"It was through him that I was first advised of this plot to seize the northern peninsula of Haiti, from the Citadel of La Ferriere to the Mole St. Nicholas, to make of this stretch a small republic as was done at Panama, and to sell the Mole St. Nicholas, as a naval base, to a certain European power which is seeking to regain its lost prestige. "It was a pretty plot, and your investigations, my boy, will help to bring the criminals to judgment. "Also, I think, Mr. Cecil will release you from your promise not to tell the secret, and you can write your story to the press. It will be a scoop! Only----" he smiled--"don't say too much about the crimes of the arch-conspirator, Guy Cecil!" "Then he's not a conspirator, at all!" cried Stuart, half-sorry and half-glad. "Rather, an ally," his father answered, "an ally with me, just as his government is in alliance with our government, an alliance among the English-speaking peoples to keep the peace of the world." THE END [Transcriber's Note: Several typographical errors in the original edition have been corrected. The following sentences are as they originally appeared, with corrections noted in brackets.] Chapter I "But, it is you, Yes!" he cried, using the Haitian idom [idiom] with its perpetual recurrence of "Yes" and "No," and went on, "and where is Monsieur your father?" Chapter II To the Cafe [Cafe] de l'Opera. Go down the street and keep a few steps in front." Manuel turned into the Cafe [Cafe] de l'Opera, a tumble-down frame shack with a corrugated iron roof, to order a cooling drink and to puzzle out this utterly baffling mystery. The Cacos may be described as Haitian patriots or revolutionists, devotees of serpent and voodoo worship, loosely organized into a secret guerille [guerilla] army. Chapter V ["]A privateer on the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, in those days, was a man who had sufficient money or sufficient reputation to secure a ship and a crew with which to wage war against the enemies of his country. Chapter VI ["]What happens? I can tell you what happens in this province of Oriente. Chapter VII It had not occured [occurred] to him that the consular official would not be as excited as himself. He spluttered exclamations. Chapter VIII The greater part of the island seemed, to the boy, uttterly [utterly] unlike any place he had seen in the tropics. Chapter IX Spech [Speech] again became impossible. Chapter X There are many more little houses and thatched huts tucked into corner [corners] of the ruins than appear at first sight, and a hotel has been built for the tourists who visit the strange spot. End of Project Gutenberg's Plotting in Pirate Seas, by Francis Rolt-Wheeler