s. Four feet from the bottom a beam of
wood had been nailed against the bulkhead. The captain now handed
down to Adolphe some short beams; these he fixed with one end
resting on the beam, the other in a space between the kegs.

"This is to form the roof, mesdemoiselles," he said. "I am going
up now, and then we shall place three tiers of kegs on these beams,
which will fill it up level with the rest above. I think you will
have plenty of air, for it can get down between the casks, and the
captain will leave the hatchway open. Are you comfortable?"

"Quite," Jeanne said firmly, but Virginie did not answer; the
thought of being shut up down there in the dark was terrible to
her. However, the warm, steady pressure of Jeanne's hand reassured
her, and she kept her fears to herself. The kegs were lowered into
their places, and all was made smooth just as one of the men called
down the hatchway to the captain:

"There is a gunboat coming out from the port, captain."

After a last look round the captain sprang on to the deck and
ordered the sails to be lowered, and in a few minutes the gunboat
ran alongside.

"Show me your papers," an officer said as he leaped on board followed
by half a dozen sailors. The captain went down into his cabin and
brought up the papers.

"That is all right," the officer said glancing at them; "now, where
is the list of your crew?"

"This is it," the captain said taking it from his pocket; "a
commissary at Nantes went through them on starting and placed his
seal to it, as you see."

"Form the men up, and let them answer to their names," the officer
said. The men formed in line and the officer read out the names;
Harry answering for Andre Leboeuf. "That is all right, so far,"
the officer said. "Now, sir, I must, according to my orders, search
your vessel to see that no one is concealed there."

"By all means," the captain said, "you will find the Trois Freres
carries nothing contraband except her cargo. I have already taken
off the hatch, as you see, in order to save time."

The forecastles and cabin were first searched closely. Several of
the sailors then descended into the hold. Two lanterns were handed
down to them.

"It looks all clear, sir," one of the sailors said to their officer.
The latter leaped down on to the kegs and looked round.

"Yes, it looks all right, but you had better shift some of the kegs
and see that all is solid."

Some of the kegs were moved from their posit