Partly concealed as she was by the pile of old canvas the man did not see her. Nor did the two in the dory notice her. As the dory bumped its nose against the wharf one of the men threw a line to the man on the dock who caught it dexterously with the iron hook. He had evidently been waiting for the dory. Then one of the two in the boat sprang to the wharf while the other busied himself in shutting off the engine. "'Lo, Jed. Good catch?" "Yep. Good catch." Not unusual words for Rockman's wharf but they rang with strange significance to Sidney, athirst for adventure. Why, there were not any fish in the dory! And the man with the hook had called the other Jed! Jed Starrow! _It was Jed Starrow._ She peeked cautiously around the old sails. Jed Starrow was tall and very dark and had just the right swagger. If he had worn a gay 'kerchief knotted about his head, earrings, and a cutlass in his sash he would have been the pirate true; as it was easy for Sidney to see him like that in spite of his commonplace oilskins and his cap. The two men walked slowly up the wharf, Jed Starrow a little in advance of the other. The man in the dory, having shut off the engine, lounged in the bow of the boat and lighted a pipe. Sidney sat very still until Jed Starrow and his companion were out of sight. Then she climbed to her feet, slipped along the side of the shed and ran up the wharf until she could jump down on the beach. Here she waited Mart's return. Mart and Lavender came almost at the same moment, Mart with a bulging bag of assorted and dreadful-hued candies. Mysteriously Sidney beckoned to them to join her in the seclusion of the beach. "Whatever's happened?" mumbled Mart her mouth full of candy. "You act like you were struck silly." "I've found something out!" Sidney spoke in a sepulchral whisper though their voices could not have been heard by anyone on the wharf. "Lav, _who is Jed Starrow_!" Lav stared at her in wonder. "Why--why--he's Jed Starrow. That's all. Fellow 'round town. Owns the _Puritan_, that new schooner." "I believe--" Sidney spoke slowly. "I believe Jed Starrow is a--pirate!" At this Lav and Mart broke into loud laughter. But Sidney stood her ground, not even flushing under their derision. "You can laugh. But I know--I know--instinctively. I sometimes do know things like that. I guess it's an occult power I have. And, anyway, Cap'n Davies hinted as much." "Oh, Cap'n Davies--he's always snoopin' round for trouble. We have plenty of rum-runners and I guess lots of things get smuggled--but _pirates_--" "Captain Davies distinctly _said_ pirates--" insisted Sidney who had not sufficient experience to properly classify rum-runners and smugglers. Anyway, pirates sounded more exciting. "What's started all this?" asked Lavender. Sidney told of the landing of the dory and the man with the iron hook for a hand. "Oh, that's only Joe Josephs. He's a wrecker."