“See here, my boy, I don’t want to make unpleasantness, and if you force me to appeal to the whole ship’s company, you know very well you will find yourself in a minority of one.”

“I don’t care for that, sir.  You’ll be acting unfairly, all the same.”

“We’ll let that pass.  You tell here in the act of breaking ship, that you’re of an age to be consulted.  Well, you shall have the benefit of the doubt.  You want to know, then, why I’m careful about letting you run ashore?  What would you say if I told you the island has people upon it?”

“Why, first of all, sir, that if you found it out before dropping anchor, it seems strange—­your going ashore with Mr. Rogers and leaving the rest to take care of themselves.  But if you’ve discovered it since—­”

“I have not.  I am not sure the island is inhabited; but as we were running down the coast I saw something through my glasses—­a coil of smoke beyond the hills on the eastern side.  Now, if, as seems certain, this fire was lit by human beings, it almost stands to reason they must have sighted our ship.  Next comes the question Why did I go ashore and take Mr. Rogers?  Well, in the first place, we didn’t come here to lie at anchor and sail away again; and if the island happened to be inhabited, and by people who don’t want us, why, then, the sooner we nipped ashore and prospected, the better, for the spot where I sighted the smoke must lie a good five miles from here as the crow flies, and by the shape of the hills and the amount of scrub between ’em, those five miles must be equal to fifteen.  But why (say you) did I take Mr. Rogers?  I took Mr. Rogers, after consulting with Miss Belcher—­”

“Does she know there are people on the island?”

“She does.  I took Mr. Rogers because, if danger there be, it seemed likelier we should find it ashore than on board the schooner; and because, as the shortest way to make sure if these strangers were after our treasure, we had agreed to make straight for the clump of trees described on the back of the chart and examine whether the ground thereabouts had been visited lately or disturbed; and, further, because our search might require more strength and agility than I alone, with my lame leg, could command.  I felt pretty easy about the schooner.  She can only be attacked by boat, and I searched the coast pretty narrowly on our way down without sighting one.  If these men possess a boat, she probably lies somewhere on the eastern side, not far from their camp fire.  If she lies nearer, it must be somewhere under the cliffs to the south, in which case her owners would have a long journey to reach her, and that journey must take them around the head of the creek here.  But (say you) there may be two parties on the island—­one by the camp fire northward, and another under the south shore.  I’ll grant this, though I think it unlikely; but, even so, to attack the schooner they must bring their boat up the whole length of the entrance, where our people would have her in view for at least two miles.  This would give ample time for a signal to recall us, and on the chance of it I left Goodfellow in charge of two rockets with instructions to touch them off on a hint of danger.”