Happily it was a dirty night, and they, being bad sailors, were constrained to take refuge from the elements in the Captain's cabin.

But when Portrush was reached search and research proved unavailing to find the mysterious box; the skipper could find no mention of it in the manifest and thought the Customs House gentlemen must have been dreaming; they, on the other hand, threatened to seize the ship if the box did not materialise, and were told to do so at their peril.

But exactly off Ballycastle, which had been passed while the officials were poorly, there was a float in the sea attached to a line, which in due course led to the recovery of a case of valuable property that was none the worse for a few hours' rest on the bottom of the Moyle.
Qualities of a different sort were called into play in negotiating the purchase of machine-guns from Messrs.

Vickers & Co., at Woolwich.

Here a strong American accent, combined with the providential circumstance that Mexico happened to be in the grip of revolutionary civil war, overcame all difficulties, and Mr.John Washington Graham, U.S.A.