“I wonder if Storms has seen her?” said Jack.  “I don’t believe she knows the way in here.  If she did she would have come in.  She is going away.  We won’t see her in a short time.”

“I don’t wonder that the smugglers were alarmed.  Well, if she goes to the other side Rollins may leave unless he is hidden in a cove, the same as Davis is.  The latter will have a good chance to get out if the coast is clear.  She is getting farther and farther off, Jack.”

“Yes, and we won’t see her in a little while.  She is probably going to the other side to look for these fellows.  Well, we have not seen exactly what we came out to see, but we have seen something, and I think we had better go back.  It is getting later than I thought.”

The boys, accordingly, set off toward the shore, and at length reached it, finding Ben Bowline waiting for them with the boat.

“Your Flying Dutchman was a real vessel, Ben,” said Jack, “and she is hiding in a cove along shore, but just where I can’t tell you.  I would have to look for her.  Did you see the revenue cutter outside?”

“No, we did not.  Revenue cutter, hey?  Not the vessel that’s coming to take us out, sir?”

“No, but a revenue cutter.  She is looking for your Flying Dutchman, I imagine, or for another smuggler.  This place seems to be a favorite hiding place for such craft.”

“Well, they’re welcome to it, sir, for if we get out all right they can have it to themselves, for all o’ me.”

“The trouble is how to get out, Ben,” said Percival.  “Whichever way you turn there seems to be some difficulty ahead of you.”

“Yes, and that reminds me of a time when I was sailing around the coast of Africky lookin’ for slavers.  Ever heard tell about it!”

“No, but you must be older than I thought, Ben, to have been alive at that time.  There have been no slavers for sixty years or more around these parts, and you wouldn’t——­”

“Well, there was slavers for all that,” persisted Ben.  “I didn’t say I was chasin’ American slavers.  They is others, or was.  Portuguese an’ other fellows was in the business in them days.  Well, anyhow, talking about meetin’ trouble wherever you turn, this here adventure o’ mine was that sort.”

“What was it, Ben?  We have time to listen to it before having to start back, I guess, or you can tell it to us while you are rowing us out to the yacht.”

“Well, we was cruisin’ around the Guinea coast, and one day I went on shore to look about and got separated from the other fellows, and all to once got so tangled up in the jungle that I didn’t know which way to go nor nothing.”

“That’s interesting,” said Percival.

“Then all of a sudden about forty black niggers jumped out of the jungle and gave chase, for I didn’t stop to calc’late which way I orter go when I seed them, but just laid a course what would take me away from ’em the quickest.