The boat rapidly approached the shore.

Abner counted ten men rowing and one man sitting in the stern.
The boat seemed to be heavily loaded, and the oarsmen rowed hard.
Now the boat was run through the surf to the beach, and its eleven occupants jumped out.

There was no mistaking their character.

They were true pirates.

They had great cutlasses and pistols, and one of them was very tall and broad shouldered, and wore an old-fashioned cocked hat.
"That's Captain Kidd," whispered Abner to his wife, and she pressed his hand to let him know that she thought he must be right.
Now the men came up high upon the beach, and began looking about here and there as if they were searching for something.