The Boy Scouts on Picket Duty

Billy, easily relapsing into slang when th

a somewhat gruff tone, "but it looks to me mighty

he boys--figuratively speak

smuggle?" was Hugh's eager question,

ome gang of raskils is buyin' small quantities of war goods up state--or else from Cuby--totin' 'em down the coast an' thro

er would have thought such tric

All sorts o' things is like to happen, and sometimes it's durned hard to know just what's goin' on. But if that's

er of a mile astern. Lighter and lighter came the wind, slower glided the Arrow over the long heavy swells, nearer and nearer came the cutter,

y! Can you

e!" call

ose and shambled over to the little group at the tiller. On the other vessel they coul

ame the next question from

assenger list and explained

now?" shouted the Pe

hrough the marine glas

ge that craft that jus

atch

pe Point," bawled Vinton, speaking through a megaphone which D

hat boat. She's the Esperanza, a smuggler. Have you seen her throwin

s could be cast adrift along the coast in some prearranged method and gathered in by those who had been instructed to recognize the floating objects! What were they? Water-tight kegs of dynamite, submerged, but buoyed up by th

as not long

," shouted Vinton, "but reckon t

nam

lated the captain i

mented with one of his irrepressible grins. "They'll buy t

pun. Instead, while Alec gave Billy a dig in the

aphone, but spoke through it in a tone only a few degrees louder than ordinarily; for the sloop and the steamer were now almost alongside. "Well, the U.S. and Cuba want to stay entirely out of the little war g

ind o

stores they want, and discontented loafers for soldiers of fortu

a loud guffaw. "They coul

he way, Vinton, now that you've made your report, you can turn around again when y

e. "Waste time, get s

nd he turned away scornfully. "All right, we will,

thing over there behind that key wher

on and Kelsey and the man in tweeds, who was evidently the special corresp

s in the upper 'glades or along the coast, send word to Tampa; they'll rush a cutter with

ittle knowing into what adventures this purs

row was left becalmed and drifting on the heavy swells of the Gulf; but her crew, excited by the prospect of encountering

d surveyed the trim Arrow with frank satis

and then I'll take charge again. All you've got to do now is to turn her around, with her nose pointin' yonder,"--he waved a hand toward the distant San

d. The draw, fell to Chester and he took charge of the helm. Alec came next, then Billy took his turn, and finally Hugh. While one steered, the others kept a look-out for the erratic Espera

Thousand Islands and came abreast of them about five o'clock. Beyond a broad inlet that led into the bay, a white sand beach, sparsely overgrown with crabgrass and waving palm

well that Dave would seek any excuse to stretch his unseaworthy lim

inole prophet, pointing to a bank of jagged slaty-g

promise, I'd ruther have these keys between it and us--eh? There's

he others on the beach, Hugh rowed back to the sloop to bring the captain, Norton and the guide ashore. When they landed, they discovered Billy and Alec, Ches

u got there?" Hugh asked

buried treasure!" said Billy, whose

atter-of-fact Chester. "It's prob

and see," was

aptain in

e said. "It's marked wi

and for Beg