“Never a bit of it,” replied young Dunstan. “I thought I was having the best time of my life. It was such fun to be in the woods, hiding from the plotters, as they told me, and then scooting about from place to place to get rid of our enemies, as I also thought. And we had a lot of fine fishing. Oh, it was all a great good time—until Tom Halstead pounced upon me and bore me away.”
“Where is that scoundrel, Gambon, now?” asked Lawyer Crane, looking around at the others.
“He ought to be out at the Sanderson farm or near there,” replied Joe. “I trailed him there and it was just after Gambon had slipped up to the farmhouse that I ran against Tom in the dark.”
“We want that fellow, Gambon,” shouted Mr. Dunstan angrily. “I’ll pay a good reward to have him caught and jailed.”
“Remember, we have only your son’s evidence that Gambon handed him the note,” replied Mr. Crane. “There is no other witness on the point, and——”
Rap, rap, rap! sounded a brisk summons on the door. Warren admitted three men, one of whom he seemed to know.
“These gentlemen are United States officers,” the deputy stated, coming back with the visitors, after a few words exchanged in a low tone. “Mr. Dunstan, this is Mr. Lawrence. The Government turned over to him the letter you sent about Alvarez and that fellow’s filibustering work.”
“I thought the Government intended to pay no attention to my letter,” said Mr. Dunstan.
“At first our department couldn’t take up the matter,” replied Mr. Lawrence. “All our men were busy. But Mr. Joyce,” turning to indicate one of his companions, “has been here on the island since yesterday morning. His news, however, leads us to believe that the filibusters will not attempt to get away from here with their unlawful cargo for a few days yet.”
“Then perhaps Mr. Joyce does not know,” put in Tom, “that Alvarez and Sanderson have been moving that cargo from the farm buildings down to a new shed near the pier.”