visions in the Alert?"

"Oh, I think I can see through that easily enough," said James. "Frank
knows that we expected that he was going to carry them over to the
island, and he calculates to get us to chase him and give the Alert a
chance to land the provisions. He is a cunning fellow, but this time
we are too sharp for him."

"I wonder why Frank don't send some one out to act as a spy," said
Charles.

"I guess he's afraid that he would be taken prisoner."

We may as well state here (and we should have done so before) that it
had been agreed that if one side could catch any of the other acting
as spies, they were at liberty to hold them as prisoners until the
race was over, and that the prisoner should, if required, give his
captors all the information possible relative to the movements and
plans of his party, and they could also require him to lend assistance
in carrying out their own. The prisoner, of course, was allowed the
privilege of escaping, if he could.

This _was_ the reason why the smugglers had not sent out any spies;
and, if the coast-guards had been aware that Frank and William were
hidden away in the willows, they could easily have captured them, and,
according to the agreement, obliged them to divulge all their plans.

"Well," said Charles, "we don't want any prisoners now, for we know
all their plans; but I wanted to catch Frank this morning, for I was
afraid he would beat us. If he should find out that this trick was
discovered, he would plan another in five minutes. I guess we had
better remain where we are to-night," he continued, "and, at
half-past two o'clock, we will pull out into the river, and blockade
the creek. All we have to do is to take care of the Alert, and let the
other boats do as they please. But we had better be off, or the
smugglers may slip out and make some of us prisoners."

And the spies departed as cautiously and quickly as they had come.

As soon as they had gone, the smugglers arose from their places of
concealment, and stole into the house, and acquainted the other boys
with the success of their stratagem.

After enjoying a hearty laugh at the expense of the coast-guards, led
by George and Harry, they ran up stairs into the "large chamber," a
room containing three beds, and they were soon snug between the
sheets. But sleep was, for a long time, out of the question; they
laughed and talked until their jaws ached, and the hands of the old
clock that stood in the room