lets his yacht be used for such a purpose.'

"'But I want to go, Alex,' she said. 'I will go. I'm a good sailor. It's
father's yacht. He won't care.'

"'But what's the use?' he expostulated. 'Besides--think of the danger.
If it was our business, it might be different.'

"'I should think you'd want to go.'

"'Not I. I can get all the excitement I want in a motor-boat race
without risking my precious neck pulling the chestnuts out of the fire
for someone else.'

"'Well, I want the adventure,' she persisted, petulantly.

"'But, Giulia, if you go tonight, think of the risk--'

"That was the last I heard as they left the room, still arguing.
Evidently, someone is going to pull off something tonight."

It did not take Kennedy long to make up his mind what to do next. He
left the cellar hurriedly and in the laboratory hastily fixed up a
second heavy and bulky package similar to that which he had taken down
to the revenue cutter earlier in the day, making it into two parcels so
as to distribute the burden between us.

That night we journeyed out to Oceanhurst again. Avoiding the regular
road, we made our way from the station to the Gaskell place by a
roundabout path and it was quite dark by the time we got there.

As we approached the basin we saw that there were several men about.
They appeared to be on guard, but since Oceanhurst at that season of the
year was pretty deserted and the Gaskell estate was out of the town,
they were not especially vigilant.

Dark and grim, with only one light showing weakly, lay the yacht, having
been run into the basin, now. A hawser had been stretched across the
mouth of the basin. Outside was a little tender, while a searchlight was
playing over the water all the time. Evidently whatever interference was
feared was expected from the water rather than from the land.

We slunk into the shadow of a row of bath-houses, in order to get our
bearings. On the opposite side from the road that led down from the
house, it was not so likely that anyone would suspect that interlopers
were hiding there.

Still, they were not neglecting that side of the basin, at least in a
perfunctory sort of way.

Kennedy drew me back into the shadow, deeper, at the sound of footsteps
on the boardwalk leading in front of the bath-houses.

From our hiding place we could now hear two voices, apparently of
sailors.

"Do you know the new wireless operator who goes with us tonight?" asked
one.

"No. They'