To his surprise, the canoe came to land directly in front of the hut, and the three men sprang out into the shallow water and drew it up on the beach.  From the bottom of the canoe they lifted a long object rolled in canvas.  Suspending this from their shoulders, they disappeared into the hut.

CHAPTER IV

THE HUT ON THE BEACH

Hugh was agog with curiosity.  He felt that he must find out who were those three stealthy strangers and what they were doing there.

“Perhaps they’re smugglers,” was his first thought.  “If they are, I’d be doing a real service to Uncle Sam if I could report their whereabouts to the Petrel when she comes back this way.  Gee! it’s worth the risk!  Here goes!”

Without stopping to think much more about it, Hugh began to creep forward on hands and knees down the mound and quite close to the bamboo lean-to.  Though usually unwilling to play the part of an eavesdropper, he felt justified in his present impulsive venture by the actions of the three men, for they seemed to be engaged in some underhand work which would not stand the light of day.  So hiding himself behind a cypress stump, Hugh listened eagerly, straining his ears to catch every word.

The men spoke in low voices so he could not hear everything, but he heard enough to convince him that they were indeed smugglers.  They were arranging to convey a cargo of dynamite from a point near the mouth of the little stream Sandgate on the peninsula (Florida) over to this retreat on the island.  This was to be done on the first night when there was no moon and the wind was blowing off shore.

“There’s a guy named Durgan lives over yonder in a little clearing ’bout a hundred yards up from the mouth of the creek,” said one of the men.  “Lives there all year ‘round alone, fishin’ an’ raisin’ turtles fer market.  Queer ol’ cuss, kind-a looney,—–­but he’s friendly to us and willin’ to oblige us by showin’ a light in his cabin winder when the coast is clear.”

“You theenk dat will be next-----”

The rest of that question was lost to Hugh, because the man who had first spoken muttered a warning of silence, then added something in a still lower tone.  In vain Hugh tried to catch the words.  Then the man whose accent indicated that he was either a Creole or a Haytian spoke again.

“Eet is not alway so easy to tell when dere will be no moon,” he said.  “And der wind, eet blow effery way—–­in one day.”

“Never mind,—–­just wait,” came the answer.   “One o’ these nights,
perhaps to-morrow, we’ll-----”

Again the sentence was lost.  Hugh frowned impatiently.  However, as they went on talking he heard some more of their designs—–­in particular, the fact that the dynamite was to be used for blowing up a railroad bridge.