"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.