gth of fuse, and set out upon his errand.

He had scarcely disappeared in the gloom when Dale, who had volunteered
to keep a look-out, gave warning of the approach of two boats--the
launch and the pinnace--full of men.

They were observed almost at the same moment by Lance, who hailed:

"Schooner ahoy! Do you see the boats coming?"

"Ay, ay," answered Captain Staunton. "We see them, and we'll give them
a warm reception presently."

"Very well," returned Lance; "we shall stick to our work and leave you
to do the fighting. If you require any assistance, give us a call."

"All right!" answered the skipper. Then turning to the men on the
schooner's deck, he shouted:

"Run those two guns out of the stern-ports there, and train them so as
to sweep the boats just before they reach the landing. So! that's well.
Now wait for the word, and when I give it, fire."

The boats, however, were meantime lying upon their oars, their crews
apparently holding a consultation. The fire-light which revealed their
approach revealed to them also the fact that the occupants of the
shipyard were fully prepared to emphatically dispute any attempt on
their part to land; and the sight brought vividly to their minds the
aphorism that "discretion is the better part of valour."

At length, after some twenty minutes of inaction--during which the
workers underneath the schooner's bottom plied their tools with a skill
and energy that was truly astounding--the two boats were once more put
in motion, their crews directing their course toward the landing, each
boat having a rude substitute for a white flag reared upon a boat-hook
in the bow.

The moment that they were near enough for their occupants to hear him
Captain Staunton hailed them with an imperative order to keep off or he
would fire into them.

They at once laid upon their oars, and a man rising in the stern-sheets
of the launch returned an answer, which was, however, quite
unintelligible. Meanwhile the boats, still having way upon them,
continued slowly to approach.

"Back water!" shouted the skipper, seizing the trigger line of one of
the guns, whilst Brook stood manfully at the other. "Back water, all of
you, instantly, or we will fire."

The man in the stern-sheets of the launch waved his hand; the oars again
flashed into the water, and both boats dashed at the landing-place.

"Wait just a moment yet," said the skipper, raising a warning hand to
Brook and squinting alon