her change her course or do anything out of the way,--but I did
find something! While I was talking with one of the heads of the house,
the mail from New York, which had come over in my steamer too late to be
delivered the night before, was brought in, and one of the letters was a
cable message from London to New York to be forwarded by mail to
Jamaica, and it was directed to 'Captain Hagar, of the _Dunkery Beacon_,
care of Beaver & Hughes.' As I had been asking about the steamer, Beaver
or Hughes, whichever it was, mentioned the message. I told him on the
spot that I thought it was his duty to open it, for I was very sure it
was on important business. He considered for a while, saying that
perhaps the proper thing was to send it on after Captain Hagar by mail;
but when he had thought about it a little he said perhaps he had better
open it, and he did. The words were just these:--

"'On no account leave Kingston Harbor until further orders.--Blackburn.'
Blackburn is the head owner."

"What did you say then," asked Mrs. Cliff, very earnestly, "and what did
he say?"

"I didn't say anything about her being a treasure ship," replied
Shirley. "If it was not known in Jamaica that she was carrying that
gold, I wasn't going to tell it; for there are as many black-hearted
scoundrels here as in any other part of the world! But I told the Beaver
& Hughes people that I also had a message for Captain Hagar, and that a
friend of mine was coming to Kingston in a yacht, and that if he arrived
soon I hadn't a doubt that we could overhaul the _Dunkery Beacon_, and
give the Captain my message and the one from London besides, and that
we'd try to do it, for it was very important. But they didn't know me,
and they said they would wait until my friend's yacht should arrive, and
then they would see about sending the message to Captain Hagar. Now,
I've done enough talking, and we must do something!"

"What do you think we ought to do?" asked Burke.

"Well, I say," answered Shirley, "if you have any passengers to put
ashore here, put them ashore, and then let's go after the _Dunkery
Beacon_ and deliver the message. A stern chase is a long chase, but if
I'm to judge by the way this yacht caught up to the _Antonina_ and
passed her, I believe there's a good chance of overhauling the _Dunkery
Beacon_ before the pirates get hold of her. Then all she's got to do is
to steam back to Kingston."

"But suppose the pirates come before she gets back,