Had it been daylight, the ruse of the smugglers would certainly have been detected, but, as it was, the coast-guards never mistrusted that any thing was wrong.

The night was rather dark, and the sham provisions were so neatly tied up, and so carefully stowed away, that the deception was complete.
"I guess they are all here," said one of the boys, at length.
"Well, come ashore, then," said Charles, "and let's be off." The boys pulled back to the wharf, and Charles continued, "I didn't think that the Alert would hold all of the refreshments, did you ?" "No," answered one of the boys, whom the smugglers recognized as James Porter; "I guess it was a tight squeeze; I could hardly get my hand in between the baskets." "What do you suppose the smugglers intend to do ?" inquired another.
"I don't know," answered Charles, "unless they propose to get up in the morning before we do, and slip over to the island before we know it.

I wonder how they felt when they saw us taking our positions." "But what do you suppose made them put the provisions in the Alert ?" "Oh, I think I can see through that easily enough," said James.

"Frank knows that we expected that he was going to carry them over to the island, and he calculates to get us to chase him and give the Alert a chance to land the provisions.

He is a cunning fellow, but this time we are too sharp for him." "I wonder why Frank don't send some one out to act as a spy," said Charles.
"I guess he's afraid that he would be taken prisoner." We may as well state here (and we should have done so before) that it had been agreed that if one side could catch any of the other acting as spies, they were at liberty to hold them as prisoners until the race was over, and that the prisoner should, if required, give his captors all the information possible relative to the movements and plans of his party, and they could also require him to lend assistance in carrying out their own.