ly there was trouble ahead.

The boys came together again at the foot of the sea-wall. Should they
fight or run? It was one or the other. Whatever else they might be,
Dolph and Brittler clearly were not cowards. If there was a fight, it
was certain somebody would be shot, very likely killed. Was the risk
worth taking? Would it not be better to hurry back to the cabin, warn
Filippo and Throppy, and escape up the bank into the woods? The
smugglers, with but two automatics against four, would hardly dare to
follow them.

"Way enough, Dolph!" growled Brittler's voice.

The sloop had grounded. Splash! Splash! Her two passengers had leaped
out into the water and were making their way to the beach.

Jim came to an instant decision. He opened his lips, but the words he
had planned to speak were never uttered. The strong, rhythmical dip of
oars suddenly beat through the fog.

"What's the trouble here?" demanded a stern voice.

A great surge of thankfulness almost took away Jim's power of speech.

"It's the cutter!" he ejaculated, chokingly. "Throppy got her, after
all!"

XXIII

WHITTINGTON GRIT

So far as the smugglers were concerned the game was up. It was one thing
to attempt to overpower a group of boys and appropriate their sloop, but
it was quite another to offer armed resistance to the officers of the
United States revenue service.

Dolph and Brittler realized that; they realized, too, that they had
absolutely no chance of escaping from the island, so they stood sullenly
by while Jim told his story to the lieutenant commanding the boat. At
the close of his recital the officer turned to them.

"You hear the statements of this young man. What have you to say for
yourselves?"

"Nothing now," replied Brittler.

"You may hand over your guns."

The two surrendered their automatics and were placed under arrest.
Following Jim's guidance, the lieutenant inspected the captured
smugglers in Camp Spurling and the Chinese in the fish-house. Leaving a
guard on shore and taking Jim with him, he went off to make his report
to the captain.

"It's a case for the United States commissioner at Portland," decided
the latter. "We'll have to take the whole party there. Guess you boys
had better come along as witnesses. The _Pollux_ was bound east when we
picked up your wireless; but this matter is so important that I'm going
to postpone that trip for a couple of days. I can bring you and the rest
of your party back