r Prince had come about, and was standing up to the
village. He felt as though he should now be called upon to give up the
Skylark to her rightful owner.

"I'm glad to see you, Captain Chinks," exclaimed he; but what he said
was rather complimentary than strictly true--a society fib.

"Won't you come below, and take some dinner with us?"

The captain had been to dinner, for it was now two o'clock in the
afternoon, and he began to ask about the Skylark.

CHAPTER VII.

IN THE CABIN OF THE SKYLARK.

Little Bobtail was not particularly glad to see Captain Chinks when he
boarded the Skylark, at her anchorage on the fishing-grounds. It seemed
as though the captain had taken a great deal of trouble to come down
several miles from the village, probably hiring Prince to put him
alongside the yacht. Yet he could not help thinking that the slight
uneasiness which disturbed him was very absurd. He had permitted himself
to hope that the owner of the Skylark would not claim her, or, at least,
would not claim her till he had the use of her for a season, the longer
the better; but he felt that he had no right to hope any such thing. The
yacht was a beautiful craft, and it was in the very height of the
boating season. All his hopes, however, had been very vague, and were
not founded on any reasonable basis. He had been considering the
remotest of possibilities, rather than the slightest probabilities.

When Captain Chinks came on board, Bobtail felt that he had come to
claim the yacht. According to the general "speech of people," this man
of a doubtful reputation was, more likely than any other person in
Camden, the owner of the twenty cases of brandy. If he claimed the
yacht, he must claim the smuggled goods at the same time. Of course
Bobtail would be expected to keep the secret, and thereby become a party
to the fraud. He was not prepared for this issue. He did not want the
confidence of any smuggler. Whatever his own views of the contraband
trade, he would not break any law of the land himself, however leniently
he was disposed to regard others who neglected to pay duties to the
custom-house. He had always tried to be honest and upright, and he had a
perfect horror of being anything else.

"How's this, Bobtail?" said Captain Chinks, casting his eyes about him,
as if to examine the parts of the yacht. "This is a fine boat!"

"Tip-top, sir," replied the skipper, with proper enthusiasm.

"Some one up in the village s