exclaimed, "this is awful! Must we actually give up trying to
punish the dog? Why, he has us at his mercy, it seems. The money I can
raise, I believe, and it's not the thought of losing it that cuts me.
It's letting that gallows-hound go unscathed. And if anything should
slip in the plans--good God, it's too terrible to think of!"

He dropped into an armchair, his head resting in his hands. Job
understood something of the father's anguish and refrained from any
comment. Standing by the broad oak mantelpiece, he mused over the
chances of the boy's escape alive. Knowing Bonnet's eccentricities, he
would have been the last to urge an armed attack in defiance of the
terms in the letter. He had not the slightest doubt that the Captain,
half-insane as he was, would be capable of even more dastardly crimes
than the one he now threatened. Gradually an idea took form in the
ex-pirate's brain. It was a bold one and needed to be executed boldly if
at all. When the grief-stricken gentleman raised his head, Job turned
and faced him. "Mr. Curtis," he said, "there's one thing to be done, as
far's I can see, and I believe it's for me to do it. I've told you about
Jeremy Swan, the boy we took aboard up north along. I think most as much
o' getting him out o' this scrape as you do o' savin' your lad. Now
here's my scheme. I know that coast around Cape Fear like I know the
black schooner's deck. I'll get down there about the first o' September,
an' I reckon they'll be there near the same time. I'll sneak up as close
as I can in a small boat, then crawl acrost the bars till I'm near their
moorin', an' swim out after dark, so I can look over the lay o' things
aboard. It's just possible that I can get a word to one o' the boys and
maybe take 'em off without bein' caught. You can be lyin' to, somewhere
out o' sight, and' if we get clean away, we'll take the _Queen_ around
an' blow Bonnet out o' water. That's the best I can offer, but if it
works it'll do the job up brown."

Curtis had listened earnestly, amazed at the daring of the man's
suggestion. He reached out a broad hand and took Job's hairy fist in a
grip that expressed the depth of his feelings. His eyes were blinking
and he could not trust his voice, but the long Yankee knew that the risk
he had offered to undertake was appreciated. They talked far into the
night, planning the details of the attempt and discussing measures to be
employed should it fail. They still had the best part o