and you," I replied, satisfied by this time that he had
found a mare's nest, or there was some kind of trouble ahead.

"We have two men in the fore-cabin who are charged with robbery."

"One of them is; the other is an accomplice after the fact," I replied.

"That sounds as though you had been a lawyer all your life, or at least
since you put on jacket and trousers. An accomplice after the fact! I
suppose that he took part in the robbery after it was all done."

"It means that Cornwood took the money, knowing it was stolen, and
aided and abetted Boomsby in escaping. In my opinion, he came down to
Key West solely to get part of the money. But no matter for that; what
is to keep us here all summer?" I asked.

"I presume you mean to hand the robbers over to the police of New
Orleans?" queried Captain Blastblow.

"That is the only thing we can do, unless we carry them back to
Florida; and I don't care about going back there so soon."

"Just so. I don't know anything about law; but once I brought in a
fellow in my vessel who had committed a crime in another State. One of
the passengers who knew all about the crime complained of the rascal,
and he was hauled up before a court. It so happened that I knew
something about the matter, and I was summoned as a witness, and the
man was sent to jail. I could identify the man, but no one else could.
They had to send south for a requisition from the Governor of Georgia.
For one reason and another it took two weeks to get it, and I had to
stay home from one trip to Savannah to appear as a witness."

"And you think we may be kept here as witnesses," I inquired, with no
little anxiety.

"We are dead sure to be kept here till the Governor of Florida can send
an officer with a requisition for the prisoner. It will take at least
one week for that, and it may take two or three. Somebody must complain
of Boomsby and Cornwood in Jacksonville, and then the governor must be
sure that it is all right. After all this the Governor of Louisiana
must be sure that he is not sending a man off who is not likely to be
guilty."

The situation looked rather trying to me, and I decided to go on shore
and have a talk with my father about it. As soon as I reached the
customhouse I bought a Picayune, and the first thing I saw in the paper
was "Further Details of the Great Storm." I found that the whole
country above was inundated, and that it was expected the river would
rise still higher. Many railr