"There's somebody with him."

"Yes, it's Uncle Ben."

"Then what makes you jump around so much? If the old lobster catcher is half as good a man as you think, he'll see to it your stepfather won't kick up too much of a row."

"I don't know whether he can stop Cap'en Doak when he gets goin' right strong, for he's terrible sometimes."

"Well, keep behind the rock, an' don't leave this place till you're certain he's got his eye on you. I've hid from Mother Sharkey so many times that I know how it oughter be done."

By this time the lads could hear plainly the voices of the two men, and but few words were needed to explain why Uncle Ben was in such bad company.

"I know he's somewhere on the island, an' I'll hunt him out if I stay here a week!" Captain Doak was saying angrily.

"You'll do nothin' of the kind, Eliakim Doak, an' that I'm tellin' you for a fact. I've allowed you to come across here rather'n have an up an' down row; but even if you got your hands on the boy you shouldn't take him away, an' that you can count on. As for stoppin' ashore here any length of time, that's for me to say. So long as I pay the rent, this 'ere island is my private property, an' if you're on it an hour from this time I'll bring suit agin you for trespass as sure as my name's Ben Johnson!"

"I'm allowin' to do pretty nigh as I please," Captain Doak cried in a rage, and Uncle Ben replied in a placid tone as he turned to retrace his steps:

"'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', Eliakim, you're makin' the biggest kind of a mistake, an' I'm goin' to take the trouble to prove it before another half hour goes over our heads."