But the three men were filled with consternation. The ruddy, weather-beaten face of the captain turned to a mottled purple; his jaw dropped, and he stood there gaping, with fear in his bulging eyes. The erect, easy grace of Lord Stran-leigh, clad in white, instantly suggested to his experienced eye the British naval officer. This error was heightened by the natty, gold-braided hat worn by the doctor; but the attitude of the two men in white was not so disquieting as the demeanor and appearance of the boat herself. She was most expertly handled, and came alongside with that impudent, saucy air characteristic of midshipmen and the smaller units of the British navy. There was a touch of arrogance in her rakish build, as if she knew the whole power of a maritime nation was typified in her. The significance of her armored sides was not lost on the two seafaring men, even though the manager of the mine did not become immediately conscious of it, but all three recognized the sinister significance of that projecting prow of steel, which was plainly, if waveringly seen, through the transparent green waters, dangerous as the nose of a maneating shark. Lord Stranleigh smiled as he realized the panic his sudden appearance had caused. “Good morning,” he greeted them pleasantly. “Have you seen anything of timber floating down this river?” “Timber?” gasped the manager of the mine. “Yes--yes--we have.” “Is it lost, do you think?” “I--I suppose most of it is bobbing about in the surf of the Atlantic Ocean.” “Not lost, but gone before,” murmured the doctor. Stranleigh surmised that captain and mate knew more of the piratical, thieving nature of their expedition than he had supposed. They were both well aware that British cruisers were nosing about in all sorts of odd comers of the world, mostly where they were not wanted, but even so a worthy seaman, if engaged in his lawful occupation, had no reason to fall into a state of nervous collapse at the sight of a craft which looked like a baby torpedo boat. He had hitherto believed that captain, officers, and crew of the _Rajah_ were innocent participators in a scheme of villainy and theft, but now he knew that the captain and mate were equally in the plot with the tall, dark-looking manager, and this information he placed at the back of his brain for future use when he should meet the captain on the open sea. “Are you a naval officer, sir?” stammered the captain, speaking for the first time. “Oh, dear, no,” replied Stranleigh airily; “merely a private person.” All three heaved a simultaneous sigh of relief, and their statuesque posture lost something of its stiffness. “I’m cruising about the coast in my yacht.” “That isn’t your yacht, is it?” asked the mine manager. “No, my yacht lies a few miles farther up the river, and is an ocean-going affair. It is built with an eye to comfort and to the housing of a good number of men.”