There was a moment of silence, but presently Wilton Barnstable continued, repressing a sigh: "I thought at first, Mr.Cleggett, that you were an ally of Logan Black's, just as you believed me to be his ally, and as he believed you and me to be working together.

It may interest you to know that smuggling has been one of his side lines.

There is, somewhere hereabouts, a cave in which smuggled goods are stored.

These coasts have a sinister history, Mr.Cleggett.

It is possible that your canal boat--I beg your pardon, your schooner, Mr.Cleggett--played some part in their smuggling operations.