The two men stopped and listened a moment, when Tom Pearce started to go toward the door, exclaiming:
"Something has scared Renie!"
"Hold on! Nothing is the matter with the girl," said Garcia.
"How do you know?" retorted the old smuggler; and he made another step toward the door, when the man Garcia suddenly dealt him a blow with a club.
The blow was a powerful one, and it brought the old man to the floor, which laid him insensible upon the broad of his back.
Meantime, the detective had overheard the scream; and had slid away from his hiding-place, and started to run toward the point from whence the cry had come.
Spencer Vance was convinced that the scream had been uttered by Renie, and, remembering Sol Burton's attack upon the girl, he suspected the man had renewed his attempt.
The detective ran for some distance, and saw no one; and his anxiety became intense lest some real harm had befallen the helpless girl. He could not understand what had become of her. When he first heard the cry, it did not appear as though the screamer could be more than a few hundred feet distant from where he lay ensconced; but he had covered thousands of square feet, and could see nothing of the girl, or, indeed, was there a living soul visible.
The detective was straining his eyes in glances in every direction when he caught sight of the figure of a man moving stealthily across the sand.
The detective started to follow the man, and speedily discerned that the stealthy prowler was the man Garcia.
The latter had not seen the detective, and our hero kept upon his track, following him to the shore. On the beach were gathered a group of men, and in their midst Vance beheld the girl Renie.
At a glance the detective took in the situation, Garcia, despairing of success with the old smuggler, had determined to kidnap the girl.
There were three men besides the man Garcia, and four to one was pretty good odds; besides, the detective knew the men to be desperate and well prepared to fight. What should he do? He could not stand by and see the fair, helpless girl carried oft; and yet he was alone, and had no one to call upon for assistance.
Lying off the shore was a sloop-yacht, and on the beach was a boat; the intention of the men was apparent. It was their purpose to carry the girl off to the yacht.
Spencer Vance was an experienced officer, well posted in all the tricks and devices of his craft, and he at once began to carry out a scheme.
He took up a position behind a sand-rift, and commenced to shriek and scream like a woman; and a moment later he became aware that his ruse was successful; two men came running toward the place where he lay concealed and as they approached the detective leaped to his feet. He had the men at a disadvantage; they were not expecting an attack, and were unprepared.
The detective, however, was ready to receive them as they ran down the incline, and quick as lightning sprung upon the two men. The men were both stunned, and were down before they had a chance to make an outcry.
Having disposed of the two men, the detective advanced toward the point on the beach where the two remaining men stood. He walled straight up to the kidnappers, who stood and gazed at him in amazement.
"Heh, Renie!" he called, "are you going willingly with these men?"
The men answered for the girl:
"Yes; she is going with us. Who are you, and what have you got to say about it?"
"When I speak, it will be from these; you fellows get in your boat or I fire!"
"Who are you?" came the question.
"Get in your boat, and leave, or down you go! The other two chaps are settled."
"But give us an explanation."
One of the men made a movement to draw his weapon, but the detective called:
"Hold on there, my friend! And now, you fellows, get in your boat, or at the call of three it will be too late!"
"One!" called the detective, and he made one step nearer the men.
"Two!" he called a second later, and he advanced another step.
The men did not wait for the third call, but leaped into their boat.
The detective advanced to the spot where Renie stood, and in a low voice, he said:
"Am I right?"
The girl made no reply.
A suspicion of the truth flashed through the detective's mind, and he said:
"Renie, run to your father's cabin, the road is clear!"
The girl, who had stood speechless during the whole time that the exciting incidents we have described were transpiring, suddenly bounded away, but without speaking one word.
The detective called to the two men in the boat:
"Don't you fellows land again, or it will cost you your lives!"
The men made no reply, and the detective moved away in the same direction that had been pursued by Renie. He had gone less than a hundred feet, when he met the girl coming toward him.
The detective was both amused and pleased. He realized that in case of an emergency the girl would be of great help.
"Never mind, my child, I've settled 'em!" he said:
Still the girl made no reply, and it was then the detective discovered that she had been gagged. He also discovered that her arms had been secured, so she could not raise them to her head.
It took him but a moment to release her with his knife, when she exclaimed:
"I thank you for coming to my aid; but where are the villains?"
"I reckon they've gone off to their boat; but come, we will see. With such a noble and brave ally I would not hesitate to invite a scrimmage with half a dozen of them."
The detective's guess proved correct. The two men whom he had first dropped had evidently recovered their senses, and had joined their pals on the beach, as a boat bearing four persons could be seen moving off toward the yacht.
As our readers can well imagine, it was not because of the detective's warning that the men pulled away to their boat. Garcia remembered that he had stricken down the old smuggler, and it was the consequences of that act which made him anxious to get away.
"There they go, Renie!"
"Yes; thanks to you, I am not going with them;" answered the girl.
"Why was the assault made upon you, my child?"
"You are my friend; I will tell you all now. That man Garcia is a villain! He has made all manner of propositions to me to induce me to leave the coast and go to the city with him, but I knew the man to be a villain, a murderer, and criminal of the worst sort, and I refused all his offers."
"On what pretense did he make offers to you, my child?"
"Oh, he told me I was fitted to adorn a mansion, that this life with these rough fishermen was no life for me, and that he would take me to live as his child in luxury and splendor."
"In one respect, Renie, the man told you truly. You are not fitted to dwell among these rough men around here."
"I know that well enough, but I will not leave my father, and when I do I shall not place myself under the protection of a man like Garcia."
"Who is this man Garcia?"
"He is a Cuban, or rather his father was a Cuban, and his mother, as I've heard him say, was an Irish lady. I think he is one of the capitalists engaged in the smuggling trade; and that he is a villain and scoundrel I know!"
"He had a long interview with Tom Pearce to-night."
"Yes; I requested you to be a listener to their talk. What did you overhear?"
"Tom Pearce is an honest and good man, as far as you are concerned; the fellow Garcia was seeking with the offer of bribes to induce the old man to take you to New York and surrender you to his keeping. He used the same arguments with your father that he used with you."
"And what did my father say to his propositions?"
"He gave no decided answer; but one thing is certain, the old man would never surrender you to that fellow if he had the least suspicion that any harm would come to you."
"What has occurred this night will convince him, I reckon."
"Yes, I should say so," responded the detective.
"I would not have gone to that man's house even had my father consented. I have a mind and will of my own; and now that I am on my guard I will take care of myself against any such attacks in future."
"I don't know, Renie; I do not think you will be safe here."
"The men around here will protect me."
At that moment a diminutive shadow was cast on the sand in front of Renie and the detective, and a moment later a little fellow, a mere child seemingly in years, appeared before them.
"Hello, Tommy, where did you come from?" demanded Renie.
"I want to speak to you, Renie."
"Well, speak out, Tommy."
"I won't speak before anyone. I've awful news to tell you."
"Go and hear what the lad has to say to you," suggested Vance.
Renie stepped aside with the lad, when the latter whispered in a low tone:
"Sol Burton has made trouble."
"What has he done?"
"He told the men that you gave that man warning, and they're awful mad at you, and they've put up a job to get the man into a quarrel."
"Where are the men now?"
"Down to Rigby's."
"They expect the detective down there to-night?"
"Yes."
"And Sol Burton was the man who told them I gave the detective warning?"
"Yes."
"You go down to Rigby's and listen to what goes on, and in about an hour come up and report to me."
"Where will you be?"
"At the cabin."
Tom Pearce's house was generally called the cabin, as the timbers and other materials of which it was constructed were portions of a wreck that had come ashore many years previously.
Tommy bid the girl good-night, and the latter returned to the detective.
"Well, is the communication confidential?"
"You are in great peril."
"Am I?"
"You are."
"From which quarter does the danger threaten me?"
"Sol Burton has reported against me."
"What has he reported?"
"He has told the men that I warned you, and that is the reason you did not go off in the yacht."
"The men will not harm you, I reckon."
"No, they will not harm me."
"Then I reckon no harm is done."
"The men have sworn to get square with you to-night!"
The detective laughed in a quiet way, and said:
"My dear child, I have been in hotter danger than any that threatens me at this moment. I know now in which quarter the danger lies, and I would be a poor man were I to be frightened off when holding that 'lead.'"
"But those men are set to catch you to-night. They have sworn to assault you, and there are twenty of them, all told; you may treat the danger lightly, but I tell you they are a desperate lot. They will make good their threat unless you go. It will be impossible for you to stand against them all."
"Never you fear for me, Renie; I'll go off in the yacht to-night.She catches a 'liner,' and don't you forget."
"You will go off in the yacht with those men?" exclaimed the girl.
"Yes, I will."
"Never! they will go for you at sight! They know now that you have been warned."
"I will look out for myself; it is not my peril we must consider, but yours."
"I am safe. I shall tell all to my father, and after that it will be a dangerous thing for Garcia to show his face around our cabin."
"The man has money, he will operate by trick and device. He will bribe someone whom you consider your best friend to aid him, and already you have an enemy."
"Sol Burton?"
"Yes."
"I do not fear him. I'll scare that man over to the mainland, to remain there, before to-morrow's sunset. No, no! I am not in danger, but you are."
"You need have no fear for me."
"You will not go to Rigby's to-night?"
"I may go down there."
"And invite your doom?"
The detective smiled as he answered:
"I can depend upon you?"
"How depend upon me?"
"You will not give any information against me!"
"I certainly will not."
"You must not know anything about me when you are questioned, but you can suggest that, possibly, I have become seared, and slid away."
"Why do you not go?"
"Go! why, my child, I'm getting right down to the business that brought me here; in a few days I'll have matters dead to rights; and, while I think of it, let me warn you, do not let Tom Pearce go off any more."
"He does not go off nowadays. He has not been off in the yacht for a year. He is getting too old."
"Give him a warning."
"How warn him?"
"Tell him to lay low, that the officers have got all the points down good, and are about to close in; tell him he'll be safe if he lies quiet close from this time out."
"I will warn him; but, alas! it's you who should take warning.You know not your peril?"
"We will drop that matter for the present. I have only one more word to say: You must know nothing about me, under any circumstances whatever; you must never seek to communicate with me, unless I first address you."
"I do not understand."
"It is not necessary for you to understand; you are a girl of ready wit; a general command to you is sufficient. I have good reasons for my request. I am amply able to take care of myself under all circumstances; my fear, as I told you, is for you. And now, to change the subject, have you any intimate friend, save your father?"
"Not one."
"Can I claim to be a friend of yours?"
The girl answered promptly:
"You have already proven yourself a friend."
"You remember the words addressed to you by Sol Burton?"
"Yes."
"That fellow, I am satisfied, has no information for you."
"I have so decided in my own mind."
"Will you confide in me as a friend?"
"I will!" came the ready reply.
"I have reason to know that there is a mystery connected with your committal, years ago, to the care of Mrs. Pearce."
"I know that myself."
"I can solve that mystery if you permit me to do so."
"I believe you can aid me; but if you go to Rigby's to-night you can never do service for me; these men will make good their threat!"
"We will not talk about me now; we will talk about you, and I wish to ask you one question: Were you with Mrs. Pearce when she died."
"I was."
"Did she succeed in making any communication."
"She did not."
"Not even one word?"
"She only succeeded in saying, 'Renie, I have something important to tell you;' then her tongue became paralyzed, and she never spoke again."
"Upon no former occasion did she ever give you hint?"
"Never."
"She never told you of the circumstances under which you were confided to her care?"
"Never."
"And she never spoke of a mysterious box or any relics that might some day serve as identification tokens."
"Never. She always gave me to understand that she was my real mother."
"Well, now, Renie, I wish to ask you some very, important questions, and I desire that you will think and consider well before you make a reply."
"I have a good memory; but, first, tell me what was the purport of the conversation between my father and the man Garcia?"
"We will not speak of that now."
"There were revelations made."
"Yes."
"And you will repeat them to me?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Some day."
"Why not now?"
"I will answer you frankly. I have determined, as I told you, to solve the mystery connected with your consignment to the care of Mrs. Pearce, and I do not wish to tell you anything that will start any suggestions in your mind, until I have collected and considered all the little memories you may have retained of the habits of your supposed mother."
"Her habits were ordinary and commonplace enough. She was merely a good, hard-working fisherman's wife."
"But did she not act like a woman who possessed: a secret?"
The girl was thoughtful for some moments.
"I do remember a strange incident that once occurred when I was quite a girl."
"Ah! now we are getting down to it. Relate the incident."
"My reputed mother is buried in the graveyard on the mainland, beside the grave of her son."
"Yes."
"Well, once she visited his grave with me, and as she stood weeping, she said, after focusing her eyes on me in a strange manner:
"'Renie, some day from that grave may come forth a strange secret; the day may come when I will tell you about it.'"
The detective was keenly interested at once.
"Were you old enough to consider her remark seriously?"
"Yes; I formed an idea as to her meaning."
"What was your idea?"
"She alluded to the resurrection of the dead. She was what they called a Millerite."
"Yes; I have heard of those people—a strange sect, who believed the world was coming to an end about every three months. So you thought she alluded to the resurrection?"
"Yes."
"Did she visit her son's grave often?"
"No."
"Did you ever notice that her mind took any particular line of thought after these visits?"
"No."
The detective was thoughtful a moment, but his meditations were rudely disturbed by the reappearance of the boy Tommy. The little fellow had been running hard, and was almost breathless as he called to Renie: "Come quick! I've something to tell you."
The girl stepped aside with the lad, when the latter laid:
"They're coming for him."
"For whom?"
"That man."
The lad, pointed toward the detective.
"Who is coming?"
"The crew of the 'Nancy.' They're all wild drunk, and they're sure to try to hurt him."
"How do they know he is here?"
"Someone ran in the tavern and told 'em."
"Who was it?"
"I don't know. I was down there 'laying around' on the watch, when a man ran in and whispered something to the big mate, and then the men all took a 'stiff tin' and with oaths and curses started to go to your daddy's cabin. I ran ahead of them to warn you."
"They will not harm me."
"No, but they are after him sure!" again the lad pointed toward the detective.
"All right, Tommy, you go and watch them, we'll look out."
Renie returned to where the detective stood, and said:
"Come with me, we've not a moment to spare."
"What's the matter now?"
"The gang have learned that you are still on the coast; they are all mad drunk, and they're coming for you!"
"Which way are the men coming?"
"They are going to my father's cabin, and if they do not find you there they will commence a search for you; they're all mad with liquor, and should they find you, no power on earth can save you!"
"Nonsense! they cannot harm me. I only fear for you; and now listen, I've other work around here beyond the duty of breaking up the gang of smugglers. I'm going to solve the mystery of your life, fathom the secret of Betsy Pearce, and mark my, words, I'll succeed!"
"Oh, do not remain here to-night! listen, they are almost upon us! fly with me! I can place you in a hiding-place!"
"If I lose my life to-night, it will be your fault, Renie."
"My fault?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"Because you will not do as I say."
"What shall I do?"
"Go to your father's cabin, and deny any knowledge of me."
"You demand that I shall leave you?"
"Yes."
"I go at your command!"
The girl glided away.
Meantime the detective heard loud voices and signs of intense excitement over at the boatman's cabin, which was not more than six hundred feet distant from where the detective and Renie stood, while the conversation which we have repeated was in progress.
Strange feelings were raging in the detective's bosom at that moment. He had known the beautiful barefooted girl but a few hours, and he had come to feel more interest in her than he had ever cherished for any other human being since the day he had laid his widowed mother to rest in the church-yard.
When he had first glanced at the girl under the exciting circumstances of that truly eventful night, he had considered her a rustic beauty, handsome, but ignorant; but alas! a better knowledge of her taught him that she was a refined and educated girl, despite the fact of the bare feet, her unkempt hair, and long residence among the fishermen and smugglers of the coast.
She was a true child of romance, a wonderful prodigy of a strange and weird fate, and he could not but picture to himself what a ravishingly lovely creature she would be under different auspices; and he wondered not that the Cuban villain, Garcia, was anxious to secure possession of her.
The detective quickly thought over the whole matter. He discerned the Cuban's purpose; the man meant to take the girl to Cuba, perchance, to make her his wife, and why not? She was beautiful, and there was a possibility that she might develop into a great heiress.
The detective, however, did not have much time to meditate on his strange meeting with the girl and the stranger incidents that followed that meeting. He was warned that it was necessary for him to take measures for the safety of his life.
Spencer Vane was a thoroughly experienced detective. He was no tyro at the business, and he was up to all the tricks and devices of the modern science of criminal detection. He was as good at the art of disguise as any in the profession, and it was his skill in the latter particular which make him so indifferent as to the approach of the gang of madly drunken smugglers.
Our hero walked over behind a high sand drift, and in a few minutes had worked a most startling and extraordinary "transform;" no living man, unless posted as to his disguise, could ever have recognised in the dark-faced, rough-looking man who issued from behind the drift, the same light-haired, dashing-looking fellow who had a moment before disappeared behind it.
The detective had just completed his change in appearance, when he was startled by hearing a shrill piercing scream in a female voice from the direction of Tom Pearce's cabin.
"As I feared!" he muttered, and he walked rapidly toward the cabin, and approaching, he saw an excited group of men standing outside, while something of a more ordinary character appeared to be transpiring beneath the humble roof.
The detective approached the group of men standing outside and inquired:
"Hello, what's going on here?"
The men crowded around the new-comer, and glared in his face, and one of the men called out,
"Ahoy there, bring a glim here, quick! Here's stranger, and by all that's fatal, I believe Tom's enemy!"
The detective was perfectly cool as he answered;
"Will you tell me what's going on here."
"Who are you, anyhow?" came the query in a rough tone.
Meantime one of the men had brought out a ship's lantern, and it was held up in front of the detective's face, and the men glared at him.
"Do any of you know this fellow?" came the question.
One man after another declared his utter ignorance of the identity of the stranger.
"Who are you, my man?" again came the question;
"My name is Ballard, but I reckon no one around here knows me."
"I reckon you're right, you villain! and now what brings you here?"
"I came here to see a woman named Betsy Pearce."
"You came here to see a woman named Betsy Pearce?"
"Yes."
"What brought you here to see Betsy Pearce?"
"That's my business."
"You've been here before, to-night, old man!"
"Who says so?"
"We all do."
"Then you are all mistaken!"
"We are, eh? Well, my friend, it stands you in hand to give an account of yourself, and explain your presence here, or to-morrow's sun will never rise before your eyes!"
"Will you men explain why I am assailed this way?"
"My friend, Tom Pearce, has been found in his cabin unconscious!"
The detective gave a start, and a shudder passed over his stalwart frame. The start and shudder were the result of far different causes than the men around him supposed, but they noticed his momentary agitation, and one of them exclaimed:
"We've got the right man! And now, boys, get a rope; there'll be no foolin' in this case!"
Meantime one of the men entered the cabin and whispered toRenie, who was weeping over the body of her murdered father.
"They've caught the rascal, miss, and they're going to hang him!"
The girl uttered a scream, a wild piercing wail of anguish and terror! At that terrible moment it flashed across her mind that the men had caught Spencer Vance, and had concluded that the detective was the assailant of her father.
The girl rushed from the cabin screaming:
"Hold! Hold! do not harm that man! He is innocent! Hold!Hold, I say!"
The girl advanced to the center of the group of men that surrounded the detective, still exclaiming:
"Do not harm that man! he is innocent! He is innocent!"
She approached close to the prisoner; one of the men held the the lantern so its gleam shone full in the detective's face, and he inquired:
"Do you know him, Renie?"
The girl fixed her eyes on the prisoner and recoiling, exclaimed:
"No, no, I do not know him! I thought it was another man! He must be the one!"
As the excited girl spoke she pointed toward the detective.
The latter still stood, the coolest party amidst all there assembled.
Renie had taken but a cursory glance at the prisoner. One glance had been sufficient to prove to her that it was not the detective, and observing the man's swarthy complexion she connected him with the Cuban Garcia, and it was the latter fact which in the excitement of the moment caused her to exclaim,
"He must be the one!"
As stated, the detective was perfectly cool, but he realized his position in all its terribleness, and more fully, when one of the men said:
"Now, then, stranger, give an account of yourself."
"I tell you I came here to see Betsy Pearce."
"You were not at this cabin before to-night."
"I was not."
"Where do you hail from?"
"That's my business."
"That means you won't tell."
"Yes."
"You may be sorry anon, good man; and now answer! What was your business with Betsy Pearce?"
"I will not answer."
"You had no business with Tom Pearce?"
"I did not."
"Stranger, your story don't work. Betsy Pearce has been dead and in her grave these two years."
"I know that!"
"Ah, you knew it?"
"Yes, I learned so since my arrival on the coast."
Renie had returned to the interior of the cabin, and one of the men said:
"Is the rope ready?"
"Yes," came the answer.
"Do you hear that, stranger?"
"I do."
"Rig a swing cross, boys. We'll fix this fellow, and teach all comers that this is the wrong coast for such scoundrels!"
The detective fully realized the men were in earnest, and that, unless some fortunate accident intervened. It would indeed be an "up you go" with him.
It would be hard to conceive a more embarrassing and critical position. The detective could not appeal to Renie openly as the appeal would reveal his real identity; and no opportunity appeared for a quiet revelation of himself to the girl.
He was led to the place of execution; the rope was thrown over his head, when Renie came forth from the cabin. She ran forward to where the victim stood.
"Hold! Hold!" she said, "what are you about to do?"
"Hang your father's assailant!"
"Does the man confess his guilt?"
"No."
"Let me speak to him."
The girl pressed forward close to the doomed man, and addressing him, said:
"Are you innocent or guilty?"
"It makes no difference now; but tell me are you ReniePearce?"
"I am Renie Pearce."
"I have an important communication to make to you before I die."
"To me?"
"Yes."
"Well, speak!"
"What I communicate must be spoken in your ear alone, as it concerns you only."
"Go and see what he has to say," commanded the leader of the lynching party.
The girl stepped close to the man and the lyncher stepped back.
In a low tone the detective said:
"Be calm and do not betray that you know me!"
The girl felt her heart stand still, and a cry rose to her lips.
"Hold," whispered the officer, "or you will destroy all chances for escape."
The girl's face assumed the hue of death, a thrilling suspicion flashed through her mind.
"You can save me, Renie, but if you betray my real identity I am doomed!"
"Are you Spencer Vance?"
"Yes."
"Heavens! what does this mean?"
"It is no time for explanations now; tell me, is your father dead?"
"He shows signs of life."
"Then you can save my life."
"You shall not die!"
"Listen, tell the men I have made certain revelations to you; tell them your father is reviving; bid them wait and let the old man identify me as the assailant, or proclaim my innocence."
"I see! I see!" said the girl.
"Remember, under no circumstances, even though I die, must my identity be betrayed!"
"You can trust me."
The girl stepped toward the men, and addressing them, said:
"You must not hang that man!"
"Is the man your friend?" came the question in a jeering tone.
"The man is a stranger; but I am satisfied he did not strike down my father. He has told me important things; my father revives, let my father see this man!"
At the moment there came a fortunate diversion in favor of the policy of delay; a voice called in from the house,
"Come here, Renie, your father is reviving. He has called for you!"
"Bring the man to my father," said the girl.
"Yes," came the answer from several.
"Throw the rope off from around his neck."
A young man stepped forward and did as commanded.
The sentiment was turning in favor of the seemingly doomed man.
It was an exciting moment when the detective was led into the cabin; as many as could get in, crowded into the low-ceiled room.
The old man had rapidly revived, his only attendant being an old man-of-war's-man, who had had a large experience with wounded men.
The detective meantime was quite confident; conscious of his innocence he welcomed the inspection.
The wounded man opened his eyes and gazed around the room.
"Where am I?" he demanded.
Renie stepped to his side and said:
"You are in your own cabin, father."
The old man gazed around wildly at the pale faces gathered around his bed; the detective was led forward and the old smuggler's glance fell upon the stark face. Suddenly the wounded man uttered a thrilling cry, rose up in the bed to a sitting position, end pointing his finger at the detective, demanded in a hoarse voice,
"Why is he here? take him away!"
The group gathered around the bed were paralyzed to silence, but after a moment the silence was broken by the voice of the leader of the gang of lynchers who asked:
"Who is he, Tom?"
In clear distinct tones the answer came:
"The villain who struck me down!"
Renie uttered a scream, and oaths fell from the lips of the men.
"Out with him! out with him!" came the cry, and oaths and curses and shouts of vengeance filled the air.
The men started to turn the detective toward the door, determined to hang him without further hindrance or delay.
The wounded man as he uttered the fatal words had fallen back, seemingly into a dead faint.
It was a terrible moment; the maddened men had reached the door with their prisoner when Renie called out in a frantic voice:
"Hold! do not take him away, my father has a word to say to him."
The girl's quick wit and readiness of expedient were wonderful.
At first, when the fatal words fell from her father's lips, her blood ran cold with horror; but quickly came the recollection that the detective had changed his appearance, and that she herself had failed to recognize him. Garcia was a dark-complexioned man, and the thought came to her that here was a possibility that, in a moment of excitement and bewilderment, the injured old smuggler had mistaken the detective for Garcia.
Her device to stay the maddened men was a rare example of quickness of thought at a critical moment; indeed, it was the only appeal that would have caused the men to delay their fell purpose.
Tom Pearce was still unconscious, and Renie threw herself upon the old man, pretending to caress him, so as to hide the fact of his unconsciousness and to gain time until he should revive.
At length, the old smuggler did revive, and Renie whispered the inquiry in his ear:
"Father, who was it struck you down?"
"Garcia!" came the response in a husky voice.
Gladness gleamed in the girl's eyes.
The men brought the detective to the bedside.
"Wait, wait a moment!" commanded Renie.
"What does the old man wish to say to the villain?"
"Wait, wait until he more fully revives."
Some of the men who were outside, not understanding the cause of the delay, called out:
"Bring the man out!"
Meantime, the old man more fully revived, when Renie whispered to him:
"Father, do you know me?"
"Yes; it is Renie, my child."
"Do you remember pointing out the man who assailed you?"
"Yes; it was that villain Garcia."
"The man whom you denounced was not Garcia."
"Was it not Garcia whom they brought before me."
"No."
"Who was it?"
"A stranger."
"I made a mistake!"
"Yes; you made a mistake. Will you not look again at the man?"
"Certainly I will."
"Will you rise up in bed?"
"Yes."
Renie assisted the old man to rise, and beckoned the men to lead the detective forward.
"Now, father," she said, "look upon this man."
The old smuggler looked the detective all over, and a change came over his face as he said:
"Is that the man I denounced?"
"Yes."
"My friends, that is not the man who assailed me!"
The gang of lynchers stood gazing in amazement, and there was a suspicious look upon the faces of many of them as their leader remarked:
"The girl has cajoled him."
The men suspected that the girl had induced her Father to recall his words.
"Would you know the man who assailed you, Tom?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you accuse this man?"
"I had not fully recovered my senses when I denounced him."
"Do you know the right man?"
"Yes," came the answer.
"Are you sure you have your senses now?"
"Yes."
"This man is really innocent?"
"He is."
"That settles it, stranger. We owe you an apology; but you had a narrow 'squeak' of it, and but for the gal, you'd have been dangling now from yonder spar."
Turning to the wounded man, the fellow continued:
"Tom, who was the man who assailed you?"
"I know him."
"You're going to die; tell us, old man, who did the deed?"
The old man-of-war's-man, who had been attending the wounded smuggler, exclaimed:
"Die, is it? Not he! Tom Pearce is good for a three-years' cruise yet; and he'd a mind to take it!"
"Well, tell us who the man was, Tom?"
"No, boys, not now; it was a private quarrel. I'm coming around all right, and I'm much obliged for the good feeling you men have shown toward me; but I'll settle with the man who downed me—settle with him good, and no mistake!"
"All right, you have your own way, but when you're around again, we want to have a talk with you; and, meantime, Renie, I've a few words to say to you in private."
"You want to talk to me, Ike Denman!"
"Yes."
"Well, speak out."
"Clear out, boys; you know what business you have on hand; get down to work, and if you fail, I'll meet you at Rigby's later on."
The men moved away, the detective going with them; and a few moments later Renie, Denman, and the old smuggler were alone.
"Renie," said Denman, "haven't we always treated you well?"
"I've never complained of the treatment I've received on the coast."
"Then, why have you turned against us?"
"I've not turned against you."
"Go slow, girl, go slow! Don't say anything you'll have to take back."
"I know just what I'm saying."
"There's been an enemy on the coast."
"A Government officer?"
"Yes; a Government officer."
"Who warned him he was in danger?"
"Who first learned he was a Government officer?"
"That's neither here nor there. Who warned him not to go off in the yacht this night?"
"I did."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"Why did you do so?"
"I did not want to see the man murdered."
"Who told you the man would be murdered?"
Ike Denman fixed his keen eyes sharply on the girl when he asked the question.
"No one told me."
"See here, girl, do not tell me that!"
"You have my answer."
"Renie, before to-night I would have taken your word for anything; but now I doubt you!"
"I can't help it, I have told you the truth."
"Someone must have told you our plans?"
"No one told me."
"And what did you tell the detective?"
"I told him not to go off in the yacht to-night."
"What more did you tell him?"
"I told him to leave the coast."
"What reason did you give him for warning hunt rot to go off in the yacht?"
"I told him he'd never return alive."
"That's frank and straight."
"I always tell the truth."
"And now, girl, we have something, worse than a Government officer on the coast."
The girl remained silent, and Denman continued:
"A traitor is worse than a Government officer, and, we have a traitor in our midst."
The girl still remained silent. She supposed the fellow was alluding to her.
"Renie, you must tell me who told you our plans?"
"No one told me your plans."
"Listen, girl, I want to keep you out of trouble; let me tell you something; the men are very much incensed against you, and have uttered terrible threats."
"I can't help it."
"Why did you warn the detective?"
"I did not wish to see the man murdered."
"And you turned against your father and us all?"
"I have turned against no one. I only sought to save a man's life."
"The man is a friend of yours?"
"I never spoke to him before in my life, until I warned him of his danger."
"Where is the man?"
"If he is wise, he has left the coast."
"Will you tell me how you have learned of our plans?"
"I overheard you discuss them."
"And you are the traitor
"I am the traitor!"
"Girl, never confess to anyone else what you have confessed to me!"
The old smuggler was a listener to the foregoing conversation, and he said:
"Renie is tender-hearted."
"Yes; but, Tom, Renie must go away."
"Yes; she is going away."
"Have you a place for her?"
"Yes."
"Will you tell me who assailed you?"
"Ike, I can't tell you all; but I was assailed on Renie's account."
"You were assailed on Renie's account?"
"Yes."
"This is a strange story!"
"Some day you will know why I was assailed."
"Was it one of our people?"
"No."
"A stranger?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"A man you know."
"Name him."
"Not to-night."
"When will Renie go away?"
"As soon as possible."
"Tom, I am a friend of yours, and your daughter's; but I tell you the girl is in a bad fix."
"She shall go away."
"To-morrow?"
"We shall see."
Ike Denman remained to exchange a few more words, and went away; the father and daughter were alone.
The girl told of the attempt to kidnap her.
"I see it all, Renie, I see it all! But you are safe, and you shall not come to harm; but tell me, who, is the man who was brought before me?"
The girl was saved an answer, for the man walked in to answer for himself.
Renie was surprised to see the detective enter the cabin.
"Tom Pearce," said our hero, "I am a stranger to you and yours, but I am your friend. I cannot tell you who I am at present, but in good time you shall know all!"
"How was it you were suspected of having assailed me?" asked the old smuggler.
"I was coming to your cabin to ask some questions, when, as a stranger, who could give no satisfactory account of himself, I was arrested."
Renie had told her father that the detective had rescued her from the hands of Garcia and his men.
The old smuggler was not altogether satisfied with the young man's statement, as a suspicion ran through his mind that he was, after all, a secret emissary of the Cuban.
"You were coming to see me?" said the old smuggler.
"Yes."
"What is your business with me?"
"I can defer my business to some other time; the fact of your injury prevents me from troubling you now."
"Never mind my injury, I am all right now. I received many a worse thump when I was a younger man, but I am an old one now, and I tell you age will tell; but you can open your business."
"I am your friend, Tom Pearce."
"Many an enemy claims to be a man's friend."
"Had I known what I do now, you would never have been stricken down."
"I can tell you that had I known myself what I do now, I would never have been stricken down."
"The man Garcia is your enemy!"
"Eh? What's that you are saying?"
"I am telling you the man Garcia is your enemy!"
"What do you know about the man Garcia?"
"I know he is a villain!"
The old smuggler fixed his eyes on the young man, and said:
"Who sent you here?"
"No one."
"Why did you come here?"
"To warn you against Garcia."
The statement in various ways, as our readers will recognize, was the truth.
"You came here to warn me against Garcia?"
"Yes."
"Why should you come to warn me?"
"Because I know the man who assailed you to be a villain."
"The man who assailed me?"
"Yes."
"How do you know who assailed me?"
"I know him."
"How comes it that you are any friend? Why should you warn me? Have you known me before?"
"I never saw you until this night to my recollection."
"Then how is it you take such an interest in me?"
"My interest in you is because of Garcia's designs, I hate that man. I am on his track, and I am the friend of any man whom he is against!"
"Are you acquainted with my daughter?" asked the old smuggler in a suspicious tone.
"I never saw your daughter before to-night."
"How did you know Garcia was coming here?"
"I tracked him."
"Why did you track him?"
"Because I knew he was up to some villainy."
"You say the man is my enemy?"
"Would a friend assail you as you have been assailed sailed this night?"
"How do you know Garcia assailed me?"
"I tracked him to this house, and a few moments after he left the house you were found lying unconscious in this room."
"Where were you when I was assaulted?"
"I was down at the bay shore."
"What were you doing there?"
"Watching the men whom Garcia brought with him to aid him in his design."
"This is a strange story you are telling me, young man. How do I know but you are an enemy?"
"I am not an enemy!"
"But are you an enemy to Garcia?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"That is a private matter."
"Why is he my enemy?"
The young man was silent, but looked toward Renie.
The old smuggler followed the direction of his glance end said:
"Come, speak out plainly, do not fear!"
"I fear nothing."
"Then speak."
The young man reached over the bed and whispered in the old man's ear:
"I do not wish to speak in your daughter's presence."
"Renie, go from the cabin a few moments, this man has something to tell me."
The detective signaled to the girl to obey, but the latter showed some hesitancy and said:
"Father, I do not wish to leave you alone with stranger."
"You need not fear, child, and you can remain within call."
"Are you sure this is not the man who assaulted you?"
"Yes, child. I know well enough who assaulted me; go away,I will call you when I wish you to return."
The girl went from the room, but at the same time exhibited considerable reluctance.
The detective's admiration for the girl increased. He recognized that she was playing a part, and really aiding him in impressing the old man as intended.
When alone, the old smoggier said:
"Now, speak out, young man!"
"Do you suspect Garcia's purpose?"
"We are not talking about what I suspect, whale have you to tell me?"
"Garcia has designs against your daughter, all his pretensions about desiring to benefit her are a part of his scheme. He is a deep dyed villain, a man capable of any crime."
"How do I know you are not one of his agents?"
"It wouldn't stand to reason that, if I were his Agent, I would denounce him."
"That might be a part of his purpose."
"I warn you against the man; take nobody's advice; keep your daughter under your own special care."
"Why have you such an interest in my daughter?" demanded the old smuggler, abruptly, and again he fixed his eyes keenly on the detective.
"I am against Garcia, whatever his schemes may be; and now that I've warned you, I've nothing more to say; do as you choose, I owe you nothing, nor do you owe me anything; you can believe what I have told you, or doubt it, just as you choose, but remember I have warned you!"
The detective started to leave the cabin, when the old man called him back and asked:
"What is your name?"
"My name is Ballard."
"Where are you from?"
"Cuba."
"Will I see you again?"
"You may; but let me tell you one thing, if you wish me to remain your friend, tell no man that I warned you against Garcia. I propose to hang around the coast for awhile."
"For what purpose?"
"To circumvent the villain Garcia. I may stand you in good need when you least expect it, if you permit me to be your friend."