`` we may hope , i suppose , '' laurence said to tharkay quietly , as they parted to go aboard , `` that this search will at least be of some use in your quest : if we do overshoot the smugglers , at least we can follow the trail to its culmination , and the source of their goods , which if it is a harbor of any consequence will not be easily replaced , when we have denied it to them with regular patrols . ''