"Come on, fellows," added Jack. "No time for fancies. The boat is tooting for us."
They hurried along the pier to the stairway. Mr. Temple did not descend to the float, but remained leaning on the railing. He was inclined to be anxious about the welfare of the boys, but Inspector Burton reassured him.
"I'll see they come to no harm," he said. "And young huskies can't be coddled forever, you know."
"Yes, I realize that," said Mr. Temple. "They are growing up. I know such experiences are good for them, and teach them self-reliance and sharpen their wits in a crisis. That is why I am letting them go. That is why I let them make that wild dash into Mexico, too. Just the same, Inspector, one of the three is my son, and the others are as close as sons to me. And-well, you have to be a father to appreciate it."
"I'm only an old bachelor," said Inspector Burton. "But I think I can understand. Well, good-bye, and rest assured I shall look out for their welfare."
With that, he descended to the boat, which at once forged away from the float. The boys stood at the rail, waving farewell to Mr. Temple until his figure dwindled and was lost to sight in the growing darkness landward.
"Good old Dad," remarked Bob, feelingly, as they at last turned away from the rail and made their way forward. "He'll be worried about us all the time. But he put his feelings aside, just the same, and let us go."
"He's a peach," said Jack.
"You bet he is," Frank echoed, emphatically.
For some time they stood at the rail forward in silence, each immersed in his own thoughts. But brooding of any sort was foreign to them. And presently they shook off the slight thoughtfulness into which parting with Mr. Temple had thrown them, and began to discuss the possibilities that lay ahead.
Presently Inspector Burton joined them.
"Well, boys," said he in a kindly tone, "not worried about the outcome, are you?"
"Oh, no, sir," answered Frank. "Just talking over what might happen."
"That's right, don't worry," said the Secret Service man. "Probably there will be no fighting. These fellows may not have any force at their hangout to speak of. Perhaps, only the crew of the trawler from which you escaped will be on hand. If we have luck, we can surprise them. And I doubt very much whether they will put up any resistance against Uncle Sam's men."
"How many men have you?" queried Jack.
"Twenty-two in the crew, including Ensign Warwick, you three, Doctor Marley and myself-twenty-seven in all."
"Doctor Marley?" exclaimed Bob, surprised.
"Yes, he is a peace-loving man," remarked Inspector Burton, with a slight smile. "But I considered it necessary to have a medical man along in case of accident, and persuaded him to come. It was rather difficult, because he fears the anger of 'Black George' if the latter succeeds in laying hands on him. But he consented when I showed him how preposterous it was to expect any real resistance."
"You really expect, sir, that we can locate the smugglers' place in the darkness?" asked Jack.
"Thanks to the sound detector which you boys were instrumental in discovering," said the Secret Service man, "I believe the smugglers are on the island of Santa Cruz. And such being the case, they probably are in one certain spot, as I told you before. But, come into the cabin and I'll show you a map."
He led the way to the tiny cabin, the boys at his heels, and while unrolling a large map of the Channel islands, continued:
"I had hoped, after leaving you this afternoon, to obtain a guide. But the old Mexicano who earlier had told me about the topography of the island, was aghast at the proposal that he should accompany us. He was very superstitious, I could see. Apparently, he feared some sort of ghost said to roam over the island. I couldn't make much sense of what he said. At any rate, I had to give up the idea of obtaining him as guide, and, as it was too late to look for another, I came off without one. However, I believe we shall have little difficulty making our way.
Now, here is the island.
"You see from this map," he continued, "the coastline of the mainland is not north and south here, but almost due east and west. The islands are south of Santa Barbara. Here is Santa Cruz, and this is its northern shore, about twenty-seven miles in length.
"It is on this northern shore that we will land one party, while another slips around West Point, the extremity of the island. The land party will make its way through the hills to the headwaters of this little stream emptying into the ocean on the southern shore. The boat will continue around the extremity of West Point to that stream. Thus we will have the enemy between us."
"You feel that somewhere up that stream the smugglers are located?"
asked Bob.
"Yes, and probably near its mouth. The old Mexicano told me the stream broadened out to considerable width, making a small bay in which several schooners could ride."
"And which party will we go with?"
"I think it better for you boys to stay aboard the boat. Ensign Warwick will command the craft, while I will take a party overland."
"Very good, sir," said Jack. "But we're not likely to see much excitement aboard the Sub Chaser, are we?"
Inspector Burton smiled tolerantly, noting the disappointment in Jack's voice.
"Oh, you can't tell," he said, rolling up the map. "You fellows may have all the excitement. But, come, let us go on deck and see where we are.
It's a run of only twenty-five or thirty miles to West Point and, as this boat is under forced draught of twenty-four knots an hour, we should be nearing the island. You see, time has been flying. It's almost eight o'clock."
The moon had not yet risen, but the stars were out and a faint afterglow of sunset still lingered in the western sky. Against that sky, ahead, there loomed a huge island with a spine of mountains down the center so lofty as to wring a cry of surprise from the boys.
"I hadn't expected them to be so tall," said Jack.
"Two thousand feet," said Inspector Burton.
The boat altered its course as it approached the land and, with engines muffled, was running westward at reduced speed. Alongshore, the boys could see the ghostly white breaking of the surf.
"Where will we land?" asked Bob. "The mountains seem to come right down to the sea."
"We are rounding Diablo Point in the center of the northern shore now,"
explained Inspector Burton. "There, ahead, you can see the shore curves inward. Farther ahead, toward West Point on the other side of this little bay, the mountains dwindle out, and there is a sandy shore on which we can land. I'll go ashore with my command and then strike back through the mountains for that stream-a distance of three or four miles.
"Ensign Warwick," he said, turning to the young naval officer, who had joined them in the bow; "after putting us ashore, do you make your way with as little noise as possible around West Point and down the coast to the creek. It should not be difficult to locate.
"Allowing for possible time lost in going astray on our part, we should be pretty near the mouth of the creek two hours after landing. I shall fire three shots in rapid succession when we come up with the enemy.
That will be your signal. Do you then make your way into the creek, and seize the trawler or any other craft you find there.
"Have your rapid-firers unlimbered and ready for action, in case of resistance. And remember to throw your searchlight on shore to light up the scene when I send up a rocket.
"And now, if your small boats are ready, and the men to accompany me selected, I'll say '_au revoir_,' for I can see your pilot is bringing us to, and evidently has singled out the beach where we must land."
Eleven men were set ashore with Inspector Burton, the small boats which carried them returned and were hoisted aboard, and then the Sub Chaser began nosing her way ahead once more.
CHAPTER XXII
IN THE SMUGGLERS' COVE
"Don't know whether I'm cold or just plain scared," said big Bob, laughingly. "But I'm going to put on this sweater, because I'm beginning to shiver."