to be light. They'd spot us in a minute."

"Won't be any need then, Tim. We can keep an eye on them from the
yacht. And the boss is apt to turn up here himself most any time."

"Why not pull it off to-night, Jeff?" asked Larry. "It's a good chance,
I'd say."

"Ain't got my orders yet, Larry. As soon as the boss turns up there'll
be plenty doing. Keep an eye out for a red light from the deck. That'll
be a sign to watch out for anything that comes along. We may show it--we
may not. But if we do, be lively."

"All right," growled Tim. "But let's quit this nursemaid job as soon as
we can, Jeff. We're good pals of yours--and this ain't no game for a
grown man, you know that."

"'Twon't be so bad," said Jeff, comfortingly. "Nights ain't so long--and
you can take turns sleeping. It's all right as long as one of you stays
awake."

"So long, Jeff," said both the men who were to stay behind, then, in
unison.

"Good-night," answered Jeff. "I'll have a boat at the point for you at
daylight. Good luck!"

And he went off, quietly, walking easily, so that the noise of his
footsteps would not reach those on the beach below.

From the beach the voices of the girls rose faintly. Words could not be
distinguished, but Bessie and Dolly could both guess that their
prolonged absence must be beginning to give Miss Eleanor and the others
some uneasiness.

They were trapped, however, although they were in no real danger. The
men who had been left on guard were between them and the path; they
could not possibly pass them without arousing them, and they did not
care to take the chance of making a wild dash for freedom unless it
became absolutely necessary.

Bessie weighed the chances. It seemed likely to her that she and Dolly,
taking the two men by surprise, could slip by them and reach the beach
safely. But if they did that, the men would know that their plans were
known, and that their talk had been overheard, and that would be to
throw away half of the advantage they had gained. It would be better a
thousand times, Bessie felt, to wait, and take the faint chance that
both men might go to sleep together, and so give them the chance to
escape unseen.

For some minutes the silence was unbroken save for the faint murmur of
the voices from the beach. Then Larry spoke to his companion.

"Say, Tim, don't think much of this game, do you?" he said.

"Sure don't!" grunted Tim. "Just like Jeff, though. Takes the easy lay
himself and d