on him. He was your father's friend, and will serve you
faithfully. Where does he keep his yacht?"

"I don't know. But--I declare! I had quite forgotten it! He was to meet
father here to-day!"

"Good!" exclaimed Ringster; "that is the best news yet. It was stupid
enough in you not to remember it before. That makes matters plain. We
may wait here until he comes, and save ourselves all trouble. But where
will he land?"

"I don't know that," responded Halfway. "If I am right as to the
location of the cave, he would touch here, of course. If not--" Here the
Pixies entered one of their tents and the conversation was wholly lost.

"We have heard enough," whispered True. "Let us away!" Noiselessly as
they had approached, the Brownie spies stole back again to their
friends, and reported their discoveries.

"What do you make of it all?" asked Help.

True answered: "That scamp Halfway is after the cave in which Faith and
Sophia were concealed. Don't you remember that they told us of Hide's
plans? The old rogue had been laying some scheme to circumvent Spite,
and was cut off before he had finished it, or fully revealed it to his
hopeful son."

"And the last part of the conversation--?"

"Refers to Raft, beyond a doubt," answered Clearview. "Now the question
is, what shall we do? These Pixies will be down upon our camp to-morrow
at the furthest. We must get out of the island, at least out of our
present quarters, very soon, unless, indeed, we agree to stand and fight
it out."

"Well," said Help, "I have thought of a plan that will save us from our
greatest danger. I was sorely tempted to put it into execution, while
you were away. Look there," pointing to the Pixie boat. "If that were
out of the problem we could solve it a good deal more readily. What I
fear most is that these Doubtmen, at the first alarm, may pull off to
the fleet, and bring such a force against us as will overwhelm us. If
they were here alone with us we might have a fair standup fight, or a
struggle of plot and counterplot, and come off well enough. Can't we get
that boat adrift? It is not guarded; we can steal along the shore,
loosen the cable and let her drift off on the current. I will volunteer
for the service."

The party greeted this plan with approbation, and it was immediately
carried out. Help and two of the sailors crept along the shore, under
the drooping boughs of the willows, and reached the boat safely.
Silently and quickly they slipped