"But I am supposed to be on duty in this neighborhood, and so are you men as sentries," whispered Lieutenant Overton. "Our other men, up the river and down, must imagine that we have taken care of the tug, if the craft needed such attention, and so the other men are holding their own posts according to their orders. Now, come on, men. Crouch low and make no noise. If you see me run for the pier follow without waiting for orders." The military party succeeded in getting within a hundred and fifty yards of the land end of the pier. From here Hal could make out the figures of men lifting the last two cases to the deck of the tug. At the same instant a man on the pier caught sight of the advancing soldiers. With a shrill whistle the fellow leaped to the deck of the tug, calling out to some one. Without loss of a second Lieutenant Hal sprinted forward, dashing on to the pier. In the engine room of the tug a single bell sounded--the moving signal. The last two cases had just been dumped on the deck, and two men leaped ashore, rushing for the shore-ends of the hawsers. "Lift that hawser and I'll shoot you!" warned Lieutenant Hal. "Who in blazes are _you_?" roared a deep, powerful voice from the deck of the tug. "I'll ask the same question of you, sir," shot back Hal, running up. "I'm the master of this tug, and _I_ give the orders here!" "I'm an officer of the United States Army, and your boat is undoubtedly to be seized by the government," Hal retorted. The gang-plank had been drawn in, but Lieutenant Hal, measuring the distance with the eye of an athlete, leaped on to the deck. Two of Hal's soldiers followed him aboard, the other two remaining on the pier. "What's your name, sir?" "Boggs," growled the master, a thick-set, powerful-looking, red-faced man of perhaps fifty. "What's yours?" "I am Lieutenant Overton, of the United States Army," answered Hal. Guarez and three other Mexicans ran out from the cabin and tried to leap ashore. "Don't let these Mexicans get away if you have to shoot them down," Hal ordered quickly. "They're United States prisoners." "This is a high-handed proceeding, Lieutenant," stormed Captain Boggs. "Isn't it?" jeered Hal. Then, to the soldiers on the pier: "Drive those two deckhands aboard, and stand ready to cast off, my men, when I give the order." "What on earth are you up to here?" blustered Boggs. "I'll tell you about that, sir, when I have time," Lieutenant Hal answered. The two deckhands having come aboard sulkily, the soldiers stood by the hawsers. "Cast off!" directed Hal. "Come on board, Captain Boggs, I'll trouble you to step into your own wheel-house." Pedro Guarez stood by the low rail, in the way of the party's progress forward. "Guarez, I'll trouble you to step aside." The Mexican snarled, made a move as though to reach for his knife, then sullenly obeyed and stood aside. At the door of his wheel-house Captain Boggs hesitated.