help being glad we got a day ahead of you."

"What amount of money will buy your prisoner?" demanded the unhappy
father.

"Beg pardon, sir--very sorry, but--we'd be compounding felony in that
case, you know," replied one of the officers, gazing with genuine pity
on the weeping girl.

"Don't worry," whispered the colonel in Mr. Botayne's ear; "we'll clean
out them two fellers, and let Tarpaulin loose again. _Ev'ry_ feller come
here for _somethin'_ darn it!" with which sympathizing expression the
colonel again retired.

"I'll give you as much as the bank offers," said Mr. Botayne.

"Very sorry, sir; but can't," replied the detective. "We'd be just as
bad then in the eyes of the law as before. Reward, five thousand, bank
lose twenty-five thousand--thirty thousand, in odd figures, is least we
could take. Even _that_ wouldn't be reg'lar; but it would be a safe
risk, seeing all the bank cares for's to get its money back."

Mr. Botayne groaned.

"We'll make it as pleasant as we can for you, sir," continued the
detective, "if you and the lady'll go back on the ship with us. We'll
give him the liberty of the ship as soon as we're well away from land.
We'd consider it our duty to watch him, of course; but we'd try to do it
so's not to give offense--we've _got_ hearts, though we _are_ in this
business. Hope you can buy him clear when you get home, sir?"

"I've sacrificed everything to get here--I can never clear him," sighed
Mr Botayne.

"_I_ can!" exclaimed a clear, manly voice.

Millicent raised her eyes, and for the first time saw Jim Hockson.

She gave him a look in which astonishment, gratitude and fear strove for
the mastery, and he gave her a straightforward, honest, respectful look
in return.

The two detectives dropped their lower jaws alarmingly, and raised their
eyebrows to their hat-rims.

"The bank at San Francisco has an agent here," said Jim. "Colonel, won't
you fetch him?"

The colonel took a lively double-quick, and soon returned with a
business-looking man.

"Mr. Green," said Jim, "please tell me how much I have in your bank?"

The clerk looked over a small book he extracted from his pocket, and
replied, briefly:

"Over two thousand ounces."

"Please give these gentlemen a check, made whatever way they like it,
for the equivalent of thirty thousand dollars. I'll sign it," said Jim.

The clerk and one of the detectives retired to an adjacent hut, and soon
called Jim. Jim joined them, and