no sail; but when I looked through the glass I made out her
rig, though she was four miles away.

CHAPTER XV.

A PARTIAL SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERY.

"What does Captain Blastblow mean? Does he mean to run away with the
Islander?" demanded Colonel Shepard, when he realized that his
steam-yacht was again trying to elude him.

"He must have seen the Sylvania," I replied, very much perplexed by the
conduct of the captain of the Islander. "If he stopped at Key West at
all, he must have seen us before he started."

"Is it possible to overtake her, Captain Alick?" asked Colonel Shepard,
nervously.

"As the case now stands, Captain Blastblow is running away from us. He
has some object in view which we cannot comprehend. I have no doubt we
can overtake her, for she can't run in behind any keys, or dodge into
any unfamiliar channels."

"But I ought not to ask you to pursue her any farther," continued the
owner of the runaway steam-yacht. "I know your party wish to stop here,
and I will not compel them to go any farther."

"I think we can see all we want to of Key West from the deck,"
interposed my father. "At any rate, if we wish to spend any time in Key
West, it will be easy enough to come back here, for we have the whole
summer before us, and the winter, too, if the summer is not long
enough."

"I have no desire to stop here, and Margie would much rather continue
with her friend, Miss Edith, than stop at this place," added Mr.
Tiffany. "We are all quite interested in solving the problem of the
intentions of the captain of the Islander."

"We will leave the whole matter to Alick; and whatever he does we will
not complain," said my father.

"You are very considerate and kind, gentlemen, and I am under very
great obligations to you and to Captain Alick for all the favors you
have extended to me," replied the colonel.

"If it is left to me we will chase the Islander," I added. "But we must
land our shipwrecked passengers here, and that will take a little time;
and I want a pilot, for I don't like to lose any time in those shoal
waters and crooked channels."

"Get your boats all ready, Captain Alick, and it won't take five
minutes to land me and my men, and I will put your steamer where you
can get a pilot in two minutes," interposed Captain Mayfield. "I have
no doubt we should have all perished if you had not come to the wreck
at no small peril to your vessel; and I hope the time will come when I
shall have a