more elapsed, and then he heard the side
door open, and stealthy footsteps enter the store. The lantern blazed
up again, and Johnny was astonished to see that the robbers had been
reenforced. There were seven of them now.

"A thousand dollars apiece for the rascals," said he, to himself.
"That's a good deal for one night's work. Mr. Henry little imagined,
when he told me that I should have visitors before morning, that his
words would come true!"

Johnny brought his soliloquy to a close very suddenly, raised his head
as high as he could from the bed, and gazed earnestly at the robbers'
companions. He was certain that he had seen them before. He winked his
eyes hard, and looked again. There could be no mistake about it. The
new-comers were Sam Barton and his band of outlaws. He had believed that
the governor was at the bottom of the harbor, but there he was, as
lively and full of mischief as ever. Johnny had never been more
bewildered in his life.

CHAPTER X.

A STRANGE ENCOUNTER.

The last time we saw the Crusoe men they were rowing up the harbor
toward the place where the Sweepstakes lay at her anchorage. They
expected to secure possession of her without any difficulty, and to take
her down the harbor, through the shipping that lay at the wharves,
without attracting attention. 'Squire Thompson never left a watch on
board the schooner, and it was not likely that any body's suspicions
would be aroused by so common an occurrence as a vessel passing out of
the harbor at midnight. This part of the undertaking did not trouble the
governor, but his heart beat a trifle faster than usual whenever he
thought of the provisions.

The Crusoe men pulled up the harbor as though they had a perfect right
to be there. They did not attempt to move quietly, for that alone would
have been sufficient to excite the curiosity of the watch on some of the
vessels at the wharves, who might feel themselves called upon to follow
their movements, and that, to say the least, would be very inconvenient.
The governor did not want to answer any questions, and he knew that the
only way to avoid suspicion was to go about his work boldly. He kept the
skiff headed up the harbor until he passed the Sweepstakes, which lay at
her usual moorings. As he went by he examined the vessel closely, and
was delighted to see that she was deserted.

"Fellers," said he, suddenly, "wouldn't we have been in a fix if 'Squire
Thompson had taken it into his h