"
"I reckon they have been, but Denman practices the old Captain
Kidd maxim: 'Dead men tell no tales.'"
"Has he dared to kill anybody?"
"Well, men have been missing around here, and later on, they
have been found floating in the bay, and the people have
always concluded they were cases of drowning while drunk; and
I always thought so myself, until about two months ago, when I
fell to a suspicion."
"Did you never tell your suspicion?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I was waiting a chance to verify it."
"You think it would cost a man his life to be caught by those
fellows?"
"That's my idea."
The detective had made some important discoveries, and, among
others, he had "piped" down to the fact that the crew of the
"Nancy" were as desperate and blood-thirsty a set of
scoundrels as ever ran in and out of Long Island even with
that famous buccaneer, Captain Kidd.
"About how many men have been missing at different time?"
asked our hero.
"It's hard to tell; but the crew of the 'Nancy' could tell
some fearful tales if they were to open their mouths."
The detective was destined to go to the bottom of the mystery.
The place selected by the men for their work was one of the
most lonely and desolate on the whole coast at that time.
Taylor informed our hero that they would not unload from where
they were anchored; he said:
"They will run down around the point yonder, put their cargo
ashore, and then sail back and reanchor where you see them
now.
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