"Humph! Now what does that mean?" muttered the young captain.
"It means that there is more deviltry afoot," answered his lieutenant. "We must be wide-awake. Perhaps the Spaniards down here are not so friendly as they would like to appear."
Feeling hungry, the pair entered a restaurant not far from the edge of the canal.
They sat close to an open window and while eating, caught some talk of three Spaniards who rested in a small boat directly under the window.
The talk was about the new Holland, and Oscar gathered that the foreigners were far from friendly to the craft.
"I vish she vas sunk," growled one Spaniard.
"Perhaps your vish vill come true, Carlos," said a second Spaniard. "Remember, Pargloss ees vide awake."
"And Pargloss ees a vonderful man," added the third Spaniard.
Then the three rowed away in the darkness.
"Who can this Pargloss be?" mused Captain Oscar.