"That's a larger one than I've seen yet," said the captain, pointing with his cigar down into the clear water. "Oakum, ask Mr Jones to get up the grains, and let any of the men who like try to strike a few of the fish." "Ay, ay, sir," exclaimed Oakum. "Didn't I warn you to be quiet?" said the captain. "Our safety and success depend on keeping our enemy in ignorance that we suspect him." "I beg pardon," said Dutch, taking his double-glass from its case, adjusting it, and watching the fish play about; by its help seeing them swimming together, rising, diving, and chasing one another through the water, which was of all shades, from the faintest aquamarine and pale turquoise to the richest, deepest sapphire blue. "I am impulsive; but I will control myself. Go on. Whom do you suspect?" "That Cuban, of course." "But he is two thousand miles away." "Possibly, but his influence is with us." "What do you think, then?" "There's a much finer one still," cried the captain, pointing to an albicore, which kept pace exactly with the schooner, as she careened over to the soft breeze and surged through the sparkling water. "No one." "Yes, I see him," said Dutch, aloud. "But you think that Laure has emissaries on board?" "May be yes, may be no. Lend me your glass, Mr Pugh. Thanks." "Pray be a little more explicit. What do you think, then?" "I hope they will strike a few of these fellows," said the captain, returning the glass. "I can get on better without it, thank you. Look here, Pugh," he said, in a lower tone, "I am all suspicion, and no certainty. One thing is certain--those treasures have an existence; the Cuban's acts prove that, and he will never let us get the spoil if he can prevent it. The colours of those fish are magnificent," he said, aloud, as the mulatto limped by. "The ladies ought to come and look at them. Every act of that man," he continued, "that I saw, proved him to be a fellow of marvellous resource and ingenuity." "Yes," said Dutch, nodding, with his eyes to the binocular. "And unscrupulous to a degree." Dutch nodded again. "If the _Wave_ was a steamer, instead of a fast three-masted schooner, it's my impression that we should have gone to the bottom before now." "How? Why?" "He would have had a few sham lumps of coal conveyed into the bunkers-- hollow pieces of cast iron, full of powder or dynamite; one or two would have been thrown into the furnace in firing, and the poor vessel would have had a hole blown in her, and gone to the bottom before we knew what was the matter." "Diabolical!" exclaimed Dutch, below his breath.