He furthermore opened some of the cases, and put
identification marks on some of the goods indeed, he did his
work in a thorough and masterly manner. He had accomplished
wonders; but he was not yet safely off the island.
Later on the detective made some startling and ghastly
discoveries. He came upon a box containing human bones, and
he was sufficiently experienced to recognize that, in the case
of the remains, ordinary, decay had been supplemented by
artificial processes, and the latter discovery was a prima
facie testimony in favor of the theory that the bones were
those of murdered victims.
Our hero was still rummaging around when his attention was
attracted by human voices, and, closing the slide of his
lantern, he laid low and watched, and, a moment later, became
aware that some of the crew of the "Nancy" were in the
warehouse.
"I wonder," he muttered, "if they have came to look for me
here? If they have, I reckon I'm in a tight place!"
The detective crawled toward the place where the smugglers
were gathered, and he overheard their conversation.
One of them remarked.
"It's all nonsense to look for him in here."
"If it is Ballard, or Spencer Vance, I'd look for him in my
vest pocket; either one of those men would dare to go
anywhere."
"Well, search," commanded Ike Denman.
"Now I am a goner," was the mental declaration of the intrepid
revenue officer, while at the same time he was, resolved to
take all necessary precautions.
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