"That sounds good to me, Thad," remarked Allan.

"Hold on before you say that," the other went on to say, significantly.

"What about it?" demanded Allan.

"Because we don't know who they may be, if there are men out here,"
answered the cautious scout-master.

The other gave a low whistle that stood for surprise.

"I see now, what you mean," he observed; "but what makes you think there
are others here, when they never lifted a hand to help us, and haven't
as much as dropped in to sit at our fire?"

"Well, perhaps they don't want to see us," Thad told him.

"Oh! yes, we were talking about smugglers, and then we ran across that
Mr. Stebbins who knew all about us, and he was one of a party looking up
the slick men who fetch things over from Canada to escape the heavy
duties. But Thad do you, really believe there could be a bunch of that
stripe hiding out on Sturgeon Island?"

"I don't know anything yet, Allan, except that I've reason to know we're
not alone out here, that's all."

"Well, what did you see, or hear?" asked the other.

"This is what happened," Thad went on to say, in a low tone, though the
storm was still making such a racket that he had to put his mouth close