“I’m not sorry――yet,” Tempest replied. “I’ll be able to tell you more about my feelings to-morrow. I’m wondering whether that old villain really would shoot in cold blood if we went down there boldly and got busy on the _Hatteras_. It would be an exciting experiment.” “Too exciting for me,” said Dave. “I don’t like the look in his eye when he’s pointing the business end of that rifle at us. Yes, I’m afraid he would shoot, because he knows it’s a long way to the nearest policeman. He could polish us off without a soul being the wiser except his Kanakas, and at a pinch he could say it was done in self-defense.” “I’m afraid it may come to that at the finish,” said Tempest, grimly. “Personally, I haven’t the least desire to have holes bored in me. A crazy sailor once put a bullet into my ribs, and it was a distinctly unpleasant experience. All the same, I don’t see how anything can be done now but make an attack in force. Once I got hold of his firearms, I’d make him dance. Whether we ever get any treasure or not, I should just love to come out on top in this deal, wouldn’t you?” “We might make a surprise attack somehow. I expect one of them is always on the lookout for something of the sort, though.” “A surprise attack is what I have been thinking of for hours,” Tempest said. “But it’s a pretty difficult proposition, let me tell you. Jim, are you willing to take a bit of a risk? I’ll buy you anything in the wide world that you fancy, as soon as I can, if you’ll stand by me in this.” “What you do, Jim does,” the Kanaka responded nonchalantly. “Good man! All we can do is to wait for an opportunity, and then we’ll rush the citadel, so to speak. Not just now, however. It doesn’t look to me as though it would be exactly healthy down there at the present minute.” All day long the trio watched and waited, while the hammering and smashing on the wrecked _Hatteras_ continued and the gnawing pangs of hunger grew steadily. “I believe I could eat my shoes,” Dave said desperately toward evening of the longest day he could remember. “You’ll probably get all you want in the way of grub before morning, somehow or other,” Tempest replied. “We are staking everything on this next throw, you know. If we lose and don’t get hurt in the gun-play, we shall get our boat back, anyway. Flagg will be only too glad to see the back of us. If we win, we shall get our boat back just the same. So you can make up your mind to be ready for supper or a funeral.” At sunset Flagg and his Kanakas left the _Hatteras_ and returned to the _Firefly_ in their dory, one solitary figure remaining on deck on guard. An early moon lit up the scene distinctly――much too distinctly for Tempest’s liking.