"What was it, Hiram?"

"An old factory yard. Part of the buildings have been burned down,
and three or four loaferish looking fellows seem to live in an old
shake down there. They belong to the crowd of that fellow, Ridgely,
the smuggler, right enough."

"How did you know that, Hiram?" asked Dave.

"Because I overheard them. They had let their signal fire burn down
low, and were sitting around it talking. I crept up behind an old
shed and listened. It was as near as I dared to get, and I could
catch only a word now and then. They spoke the name Drifter,"
asserted Hiram positively.

"You didn't see anything of Jerry Dawson?" asked Dave.

"No, but--say, yes, they mentioned his name, too. They were all
excited about seeing our airship. It seems they were trying to
warn the Drifter."

"To warn the Drifter?" repeated Dave somewhat puzzled.

"Yes."

"Why, what for?"

"To keep away from the American shore. Somehow, they had found out
that the revenue officers were at Anseton. They knew, too, that the