Vance had measured every step as he progressed, and knew just where he would fetch out, provided he once got away from the island; but there, as stated, loomed the chance against him. His opportunity would depend largely upon the decision of Ike Denman after the return of his searching parties. One of the searching parties was moving along looking for a trail, when a cry from one of their number brought the squad together. The man had stumbled upon the strapped and gagged smuggler. There was a circus for a few moments after the discovery, and there followed some loud swearing, not low; but deep, fast and furious. The man had been gagged so long it was some minutes before he could relate his sad tale. One of the men said to him: "Who served you out, Jim?" When the man found voice he answered: "The devil or one of his imps." "Hello! did you see the ghost?" "What ghost?" "The ghost of Ballard." "I don't know anything about the ghost of Ballard, but I had a rough scrimmage with the gamest man I ever tackled." "Didn't you recognize him?" "No." "I wonder if there are two of 'em on the island?" "What's happened, boys?" "Well, it's looking as though the devil himself were loose to-night." The man proceeded and told how another of their crew had met the island mystery, and had been half drowned by him. "I tell you," said the man, "it's going to stand us in hand to get that fellow on; the game is all dead against us, and we'll whistle for our share of prize-money." "Come along with us and we may find our man; you can identify him?" "Identify the devil! let me see him just one second." The men, as a fact, failed to discover the island mystery, and different parties returned and reported to Ike Denman. When the master of the "Nancy" heard of the laying out of another of his sentinels, his rage knew no bounds, and calling his men around him he declared; "We must find out this fellow. He cannot have left the island." One of the men suggested: "We may never get a sight of him." "If it is Ballard we can recognize him." The men were sent away once more, and many of their passive confederates on the island were aroused and started out on the search; indeed the island became alive with secretly armed men. Ike Denman was satisfied that the detective had not got away, and he was determined to find him. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were at stake; the fact that the detective had trailed down to their rendezvous meant ruin. The master of the "Nancy" did not for one moment believe in his own mind that the mystery was, Ballard; his common sense suggested that it was impossible that the fellow could have escaped, unless by some strange fatality he had been picked up, and as there were no vessels near enough to see him at the time he went over from the yacht, the latter chance did not seem probable.