ir center sections brightly illuminated and the
rest fading out slightly toward what had been the edges of the
infrared beam.

"Excellent, Rick," Hartson Brant said. "Good work, son! That's much
better than I had hoped."

"Same here, Dad," Rick said, eyes on the screen. The ships appeared to
be whirling slowly, the result of his having taken the picture while
circling in a tight bank. He could see the men on the decks clearly,
and even thought he recognized Brad Marbek. Then, as the angle
changed, he saw Marbek clearly, waving his arm.

"What flag is that?" Scotty asked suddenly. "There, on the stern of
the freighter."

The flag was limp because there had been no breeze to speak of, but
part of the design was clear. "I have it," Hartson Brant exclaimed.
"That ship is of Caribbean registry." He named the country, then said,
"Look for the name of the ship."

But the angle was wrong for that. The name was not within the camera's
view, on either stern or bow.

The film was running out rapidly now. Rick watched the cargo net swing
over, full of wooden cases, and drop on the deck of the freighter. For
a moment it didn't register, then he yelled. "Hey! Ohmigolly! Did you
see that?" He threw the reverse switch and the film ran backward. The
net lifted from the deck of the freighter and swung toward the
_Albatross_. Then he ran it forward again and watched the load settle
to the freighter's deck.

Scotty yelled, too. "What a pair of chuckleheads! Rick, no wonder we
didn't find anything on the _Albatross_ and neither did Captain
Douglas! They're smuggling stuff _out!_ Not in!"

The Plimsoll mark! The _Albatross_ had been heavily loaded because
Brad Marbek had _taken on the load at Creek House he would deliver
later to the freighter_.

That was why no ships had been listed in the New York paper as being
in the right area at the right time. They had looked for arrival
times, not sailing times.

That was why the cache of cases was no longer in the marsh behind
Creek House. These pictures were of those cases being loaded on the
freighter!

The picture ran through and white light flashed on the screen. Scotty
snapped the lights on.

"We've got to get these pictures to Captain Douglas," Rick exclaimed.
"I'll hurry and rephotograph them right away. It will only take a
moment."

He hastily rewound the film while Scotty ran ahead to the photo lab.
Hartson Brant said, "Ed will be glad to get those, Rick. But don't get
y