A boat had just come into view from around the northern point of the cove, and was heading directly toward the steamer, rowed by two men who looked strangely familiar, although for a moment he could not clearly distinguish their features.

"Bob! Bob!" he cried in a low tone as he shook the unconscious sailor.

"There's a yawl comin' in here, an' I believe----"

He did not finish the sentence, for Joe was on his feet by this time, and cried, before Jim could speak another word:

"I'm a Dutchman if that red-nosed villain an' the Mexican haven't come back! What deviltry are they up to, I wonder?"

Now the remainder of the crew were awake and peering out over the rail at the rapidly-approaching boat, the occupants of which could be clearly distinguished as two of the party for whom those on the schooner from Na.s.sau were in search.

"What are we to do?" Joe asked in a whisper. "They mustn't be allowed to come on board or we may have trouble in getting rid of them; and, besides, I don't fancy being shipmates with murderers."

"Of course they can't come over the rail," Bob replied angrily. "Bring anything on deck that will serve in the place of weapons, an' we'll keep them at a distance. It's only two against two--without countin' the boys--an' I reckon we can hold our own!"

Just as Joe disappeared inside the engine-room the new-comers, having arrived within thirty or forty yards of the steamer, ceased rowing, as he with the red nose shouted:

"Ahoy, on the tug!"

"What do you want?" Bob asked gruffly.

"We've come to make a trade! The brig is aground on the shoal to the nor'ard of here, an' things shall be made fair an' square if you'll help us float her. I'll come aboard, where we can talk comfortable-like."

"That's exactly what you won't do while I've got strength enough to break your head!"

"Now don't get grumpy over the little trick we played," the man said, in a wheedling tone.

"Do you call it nothin' but a trick to steal a vessel an' leave five of us on a disabled tug, after we'd done what we could to keep you from starvin'?" Bob shouted fiercely.

"We knew there was plenty of grub aboard; you couldn't 'a' handled both crafts, so what we did was only dividin' things up. The Bonita is stranded now, an' will go to pieces in the first gale if you can't fix the tug to tow her off. We'll----"

"The steamer couldn't be repaired in a month; but if she was in workin'

order we wouldn't raise a hand toward savin' the brig while you were on board!"

As Bob ceased speaking Joe came on deck with four lengths of iron pipe, each about three feet long, and the old sailor seized one of these with a look of exultation as he said to his companions:

"I reckon they won't get over the rail while we can swing sich a handy club as this!"

"They may have fire-arms," Joe suggested.

"That ain't very likely, or they'd 'a' set us ash.o.r.e ten minutes after we took 'em off the key."

During this short conversation the two men were whispering together, and as the old sailor ceased speaking, he with the red nose cried, in a threatening tone:

"You sea-lawyers want to be mighty careful with your tongues, or there'll be trouble. I've come here to make a fair trade, an' you'd better listen to it. We'll help repair the tug, an' give up an equal share of the brig if you'll turn to with us an' get her off the shoal."

"We wouldn't lift a finger if she was sinking with all three of you on board!" Joe shouted, unable to remain silent any longer. "There's been a schooner up here from Na.s.sau since that _trick_, as you call it, was played on us, and if her crew ever get hold of your crowd it won't make any difference whether the Bonita goes to pieces or floats!"

For an instant the two men sat motionless and silent, staring at the engineer as if stupefied by the information; and then the one with the red nose cried hoa.r.s.ely, as he shook his fist in impotent rage:

"We was willin' to give you a fair show, an' do our share toward repairin' the steamer; but if that can't be done, look out for squalls.

We'll pull the brig off the shoals; and, what's more, it will be done with that steamer!"

"Come an' take her!" Bob cried derisively. "You've got to get rid of us first, then repair the machinery, an' afterwards learn to run it. By that time I reckon there'll be more gray hairs in your heads than there are now!"

The angry man looked at the old sailor an instant as if about to make another threat, and then, evidently changing his mind, he spoke a few words to his companion, after which the two began to row leisurely toward the sh.o.r.e.

The crew of the Sea Bird watched them in silence until the boat's bow grated on the sand, and as the men left her to go into the woods, Joe said:

"If we worked lively it might be possible to tow that yawl out here before they knew what was being done. Then those two would be harmless, an' the one they've left on the brig wouldn't be able to do much mischief alone."

"It could be done, I s'pose," Bob replied, thoughtfully; "but I'd rather let 'em go away than stay so near."

"But we shall have to be on guard all the time, for no one knows when they'll make an attempt to steal this steamer."

"I can't see that we should be as well off to coop 'em up on the island.

We've got to take in a supply of water from there before it'll be safe to leave the harbor, an' they'd interfere with sich a job mightily."

This was a view of the case which Joe had entirely overlooked, and it was sufficient to show the folly of his hastily-formed plan.

"They may try to stave our boat when they come back," Jim suggested.

"It could be done before we'd have a chance to stop 'em."

"There's some truth in that, lad," Bob replied, quickly. "It won't do any harm to take her out of the water, so jump in an hook on the falls."

When the yawl was hoisted inboard all hands seemed to realize that an encounter was extremely probable, even though the murderers could gain but little advantage in getting possession of a disabled steamer, and they gathered around Bob to learn what measures for defence he had to propose.

"It's certain they won't try any game until the other man is here," he said after a long pause, during which he scrutinized the sh.o.r.e closely, "an' we'd better get ready for a fight. Jim, you an' Harry cook breakfast. Walter is to go on watch, and Joe an' I'll set about the work. Now that there is so much treasure aboard we must push the repairs for all we're worth."

When the two cooks went below and the sentry took up his position in the pilot-house, Bob began making such preparations for defence as were possible with the limited means at his command. The pieces of iron pipe were laid near the rail aft, where they could be most conveniently reached; the boat-hook and oars were taken from the yawl that they might be ready for use, and then the old sailor brought on deck the largest rocks he could find among the ballast.

"There's about a dozen below that'll weigh ten or fifteen pounds apiece," he said grimly in reply to Joe's question of what he intended to do with such primitive weapons. "One of 'em would make some disturbance if it struck a boat's plankin' below the rail inside, an' I reckon we can pitch 'em pretty true if the villains should be foolish enough to make an attack."

By the time the steamer had been put in a state of defence Jim announced that breakfast was ready, and the two men went below while the cook and Walter stood guard to give an alarm at the first appearance of the enemy.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PREPARATIONS.

While it was not possible that those who had stolen the Bonita could gain possession of the tug so long as her crew exercised ordinary care, nor probable that they would make any very desperate effort to do so in her disabled condition, every precaution was taken for the defense of the steamer and the safety of the treasure.

Immediately after breakfast Bob, Joe and Harry went into the hold, and the work of stowing the bags among the ballast where it would escape observation was begun.

The gravel and rocks were first dug away until the keelson was exposed, and on this timber the gold was packed, after which everything was replaced as before, leaving the bags buried to the depth of six or eight inches. The h.o.a.rd was thus hidden so securely that there was little chance that it would be found unless the searchers had positive information of its being on board.