with his brother, an intelligent-looking young fellow of
seventeen or eighteen. He did not speak English quite as well as
the clerk, but sufficiently well for all purposes. Frank asked him
his terms, which seemed to him ridiculously low, and a bargain was
forthwith arranged.

"Will you ask Senor Cordovo if any other English yacht has been
here during the past three weeks or a month? I have a friend on
board one, and I fancy that she is cruising out here also."

The merchant replied that no English yacht had touched at the port
for some months, and that such visits were extremely rare. He
assured him that the stores ordered would be alongside in the
course of the afternoon, and expressed his regret when Frank
declined his invitation to stay with him for a day or two at his
country house.

After renewed thanks, Frank took his departure with his new
interpreter, whose name was Pedro. George Lechmere was waiting at
the corner of the street.

"I have arranged everything satisfactorily, George. This young man
is coming with me as interpreter, and as he speaks both French and
Spanish we shall get on well in future.

"When will you be ready to come on board, Pedro?"

"In half an hour, senor."

"You will find my boat at the quay. Take your things down to it. It
is a white boat with a British flag at the stern. But I don't want
you to go off yet. I have two things I want you to do before you
go.

"In the first place, I want a pilot. I want one who knows the
Virgin Islands well, and also the coast of San Domingo."

"There will be no difficulty about that, senor."

"In the second place, I want to find out, from the boatmen at the
quays, whether a Belgian schooner of seventy or eighty tons has
touched here during the last month. She carries large yards on her
foremast, and is a very fast-looking craft. She was at one time an
English yacht. If she called here, I wish to know whether she
sailed east or west, and if possible to obtain an idea as to her
destination."

"There was such a vessel here, senor, for I noticed her myself. She
only remained a few hours, while her boats took off water and
vegetables. I happened to notice her, for having nothing to do I
was down at the quays, and the boatmen were talking about her, she
being a craft such as is seldom seen now. Some of the old men said
that she reminded them of the privateers in the great war. I went
down to the boats when they first came ashore. The men only spoke