What do you say to its having belonged to the Buccaneers ?" "Ah! you may laugh, but my father said last night that he never knew of smugglers being on the island, but that there was a story about pirates having a cave here, and going out in their vessel to plunder the outward and homeward bound merchantmen." "Humph!" grunted Vince, with a sceptical look.
"And look here: he said the people had a superstitious belief that the pirates used to sail towards the Crag, and then disappear." "What!" cried Vince eagerly.
"Disappear quite suddenly." "Behind that line of rocks when they sailed into the little cove, Mike ?" "To be sure.

Now, then, why don't you laugh and sneer ?" cried Mike.
"Does it sound so stupid now ?" "I don't know," said Vince, beginning to be dubious again.
"Then I do," said Mike warmly.

"I never knew of such an unbelieving sort of chap as you are.

There's the cave, and there's all the plunder in it--just such stuff as the pirates would get out of a ship homeward bound." "Yes; but why did they leave it there and not sell it ?" "I know," cried Mike excitedly: "because one day they went out and attacked a ship so as to plunder her, and found out all at once that it was a man-o'-war; and as soon as the man-o'-war's captain found out that they were pirates he had all the guns double-shotted, and gave the order to fire a broadside, and sank the pirate." "That's the way," said Vince, laughing; "and the pirate captain ran up the rigging with a hammer and some tin-tacks, and nailed the colours to the mast." "Ah! you may laugh," said Mike.

"You're disappointed because you didn't find it out first.