chance to win out against Terrero and
his crooked friends."

"Then you--you--honestly believe I'd better make out another set of
papers and mail them to my friends of the syndicate, at Rio Janeiro?"
faltered Mr. Seaton.

"Yes; unless you prefer to be almost certain of losing your fight for
the great fortune. For Dalton, of course, knows that you can send a
set of the papers by mail. He'll feel like taking the same desperate
chance in order to have a better chance of getting in ahead of you."

"By mail--even registered mail?" groaned Mr. Seaton. "It seems an
awful--desperate chance to take. Yet----"

"Prepare a duplicate set of the papers," proposed Tom Halstead, "and,
if you'll trust me, I'll board the first Rio-bound steamer that we
meet, and go through for you. I'll give you every guarantee that's
possible to find your people in Rio and turn the papers over to
them."

"Will you?" demanded Seaton, peering eagerly into his young skipper's
eyes.

"Then you'll trust me to go as your messenger to Rio?"

"Yes, in a minute, Halstead! Yet I'm thinking of the great danger
you'd be running. At this moment Terrero's spies must be plentiful in
Rio Janeiro. Why, even every steamer that leaves New York for Brazil
may carry his men aboard, alert, watchful and deadly. You don't know
what a man like Terrero is like. The constant danger to you----"

"Constant danger," laughed Tom Halstead, softly, "is something that
most men learn readily to face. Otherwise, wars would be impossible."

"But that is very different," retorted Powell Seaton, quickly. "In war
men have the constant elbow-touch, the presence and support of
comrades. But you would be alone--one against hundreds, perhaps, at
the very instant when you set foot ashore in Brazil."

"I'll take the chance, if you let me," declared Captain Tom. "But,
now, sir, you're losing time. Why don't you go below, get writing
materials, and start in earnest to get out the duplicate papers?"

"I will," nodded the charter-man. "Should I change my mind, it will be
easy enough to burn the sheets after I have written them."

As Powell Seaton turned to go down into the cabin Joe Dawson called
sharply:

"Tom, something's up ahead! Come here, quickly!"

CHAPTER XIV

GRIT GOES UP THE SIGNAL MAST

Even before Captain Tom turned he heard the sudden throb of the twin
screws of the propellers, and felt the speed being reversed. That told
him, instantly, that Joe had found some