One morning two vessels—­a schooner and a brig—­were seen coming round a headland.  The captain and officers examined them with their telescopes, and a flag was run up to the masthead.  Almost immediately two answering flags were hoisted by the strangers, and an exclamation of satisfaction broke from the captain: 

“We are in luck,” he said.  “If we had not run across them we might have had to search for the rendezvous.  I have got the spot marked down on the chart, but they told me before sailing that they understood it was very difficult to find the entrance, and we might pass by within a hundred yards without noticing it.”

In half an hour the ships closed up together, and the captains of the other crafts came on board in their boats.  A hearty greeting was exchanged between them and the captain of La Belle Marie, and the three then descended to the cabin.  After a time they reappeared, and the visitors returned to their respective ships.  Five minutes later the schooner got under way, and La Belle Marie followed her, leaving the other brig to continue her cruise alone.  Toward evening the schooner ran in toward a precipitous cliff, the brig keeping close in her wake.  Ralph had no doubt that they were now close to the spot the privateers used as their rendezvous, but he could detect no opening into the cliff ahead, and it looked as if the schooner was leading the way to destruction.  Not until within a cable’s length of the shore could any opening be discovered by the keenest eye.  Then when the schooner was within her own length of the cliff her helm was put about.  She came round, and in a moment later disappeared.  An exclamation of surprise broke from all on board the brig, for they now saw that instead of the cliff stretching in an unbroken line it projected out at one point, and the precipitous headway concealed an extremely narrow passage behind it.

A moment later the brig imitated the maneuver of the schooner and passed in between two lofty cliffs, so close that there were but a few yards to spare on either side of her.  Fifty yards ahead the channel made a sharp turn again, and they entered a basin of tranquil water three or four hundred yards across.  At the further end the shore sloped gradually up, and here several large storehouses had been erected, and ways laid down for the convenience of hauling up and repairing the vessels.

“What do you think of that, youngster?” Jacques said exultantly.  “A grand hiding-place is it not?”

“It is indeed,” Ralph replied.  “Why, they might cruise outside for weeks looking for the place and they wouldn’t find it, unless a boat happened to row along at the foot of the cliffs.”

As soon as the anchor was down the crew were at once given leave to go ashore, and ramble about to stretch their legs after their two months’ confinement on board.  Ralph was proceeding to take his place in one of the boats when the captain’s eye fell upon him.