,
most of whom had now gone to their last accounting.

"What say we walk down the shore a way?" suggested Bob. "There might be
a duck or two in that reedy cove below here." And Jeremy, glad to quit
the place, led off briskly westward along the sand.

Soon they came to the entrance of a narrow, winding tide-creek that ran
back till it was hidden from sight in the tall reeds. Just as they
reached the place, a large flock of sandpeeps flew over with soft
whistling, and lighting on the beach, scurried along in a dense company,
offering an easy target. Bob, who was carrying the gun, brought it
quickly to his shoulder and was about to fire when Jeremy stopped him
with a low "S-s-s-s-t!"

Bob turned, following the direction of Jeremy's outstretched arm, and
for a second both boys stood as if petrified, gazing up the tide-creek
toward the interior of the island. About a quarter of a mile away, above
the reeds, which grew in rank profusion to a man's height or higher,
they saw a pair of slender masts, canted far over.

"A ship!" whispered Bob. "Deserted, though, most likely."

"No," Jeremy answered, "I don't think it. Her cordage would have slacked
off more and she wouldn't look so trim. Bob, wasn't it near here you saw
that smoke?"

"Jiminy!" said Bob, "so it was! Right over in the marsh, close to those
spars. It's some vessel that's put in here to careen. Wonder where her
crew can be?"

"That's what looks so queer to me," the other boy replied. "They're
keeping out of sight mighty careful. Men from any honest ship would have
been all over the island the first day ashore. I don't like the look of
it. Let's get back and tell father. Maybe we can find out who it is,
afterwards."

Bob argued at first for an immediate reconnaissance, but when Jeremy
pointed out the fact that if the strangers were undesirable they would
surely have a guard hidden in the reeds up the creek, he accepted the
more discreet plan.

They made their way quietly, but with as much haste as possible back
along the shore, past the remnant of the fire, and up the hill into the
thick woods.

Just as they crossed the ridge and began to see the glint of the
northern inlet through the trees, Jeremy paused with a sudden
exclamation.

"Here's the spring," he said, "and look at the sign above it. I never
saw that before, for it was dark when I was up here. I almost fell in."

The spring itself was nearly invisible to one coming from this
direction, but