he shore he remembered what he had heard Mr.
Frazer say about the wreckers being abroad, looking for anything of
value they could lay hands on.

Usually these men make their living by gathering up whatever may be cast
on the beach after a vessel has gone to pieces, and thus far their
calling is legitimate, but as a rule they are a bad class, and at times,
when fortune frowns upon their efforts, many of their kind resort to
desperate means for accumulating riches, even robbing the dead, and it
was hinted in connection with Jim Dilks' crowd, going still further.

When a vessel is in danger of going to pieces, the passengers usually
load themselves with what valuables they may possess in the hope of
saving these in case they reach the shore in safety; so that these
ghouls frequently find a little fortune upon the persons of the drowned
travelers.

Darry had heard the crew of the lifeboat talking about these wreckers so
frequently that he was more than curious with regard to them, and as he
saw the lantern moving to and fro along the water's edge, now
approaching and again retreating, he felt a sudden desire to look upon
their methods of work. It was not a wise move on his part at all, for
such men are as a rule desperate characters, and resent being spied
upon, since such action savors too much of the law and justice in their
eyes; but Darry was only a venturesome boy, who somehow never knew the
meaning of the word fear, and a little saunter along the beach would
pass away some of the time until the boat came in again.

So he started off, telling no one of his intention, though one man
noticed him walk away, which fact proved fortunate in the end.

As he drew nearer the moving light he saw that, as he had suspected, it
was a lantern held in the hand of a big man who was passing along as
close to the edge of the water as he could, and surveying with the eye
of a hawk each incoming billow, as though he expected to discover a
floating form that must be snatched away ere it were carried out again.

But it was no errand of mercy that caused this human vulture to keep up
his unceasing vigil; for should the body of a luckless passenger come
ashore his first act would be to rifle the pockets rather than attempt
to restore life.

Darry caught a glimpse of several other figures beyond, but their
lanterns had evidently given out, so they were trusting to their eyes
alone for seeing in the dark.

He had never as yet met big J