tand them off until we arrive."

"Say, what's the matter with up and telling these fellows we know who
they are, and who we are," suggested Walter. "We can tell them we know
what they're up to, and threaten them. Won't that stop them from
bothering Denny--at least to-night?"

"Not a bit of it," returned Jack, quickly. "Do you know what they'd do
as soon as they found out who we were?"

"What?" asked Ed.

"They'd know at once we were working against them, and they'd cut us
adrift. Then we would be out of it. And I haven't any desire," added
Jack, with a shrug of his shoulders, "to go out to sea again."

"We land at Buler's," said Walter, decidedly.

And a little later they landed at that resort, which had closed
unusually early, for some reason.

"All right--cast off!" Jack had called as they neared the dock, and
the _Dixie_, with trailing rope, ran up to it under her own momentum,
while the other craft swung off into the darkness, the boys calling
their thanks to the men.

"And if they only knew who it was they had given a tow to!" chuckled
Walter.

"They'll know, soon enough," replied Jack. "We've got to look up a
boat to take us to Denny Shane's. We've simply got to get there."

And while the boys were thus looking for a boat to take the place of
the disabled _Dixie_, the plotters, in their swift _Pickerel_, were
hastening toward the little cove where the fisherman's cabin stood.

The men in the boat were Moran, the slow-moving character whom Cora
had seen in the store; Bruce, the "society" chap; Kelly, a blunt and
unscrupulous Irishman, who handled the money for the factory
interests, and a man to run the boat. He had been brought in at the
last minute.

"We lost a lot of time, towing those chumps," grumbled Moran, as the
_Pickerel_ forged ahead.

"Well, we were early," said Bruce. "I've had a man keeping watch on
Shane's shack, and he was late getting in. He telephoned to me. It's
just as well to let Shane get a bit settled before we tackle him. He
was out fishing until long after dark."

Then the engineer slowed down the powerful motor as they came up to
the dock.

It was this sound that Cora and her chums heard.

CHAPTER XXVI

CORA'S BRAVE RESOLVE

When the girls heard Cora's remark, that the approaching motor boat
might contain the boys, Lottie said:

"Oh, we're all right now!" and she sighed in relief.

"How much you depend on them!" observed Belle, in a low voice. "When
you'v