the _Ship Ahoy_, and Darling had marked
them on his chart.

"We are within two miles of it," said Darling, his voice husky with
emotion at thought of Flora Lockhart.

George Wick turned his face toward the east and the white wall of fog
that now rolled upon the gray water within a mile of the coast.

"Aye, sir; but we'll not be makin' it afore the fog catches us," he
replied.

"That will not bother my plans," said Darling. "I don't intend to sail
right into Chance Along, anyway. I want to pay a surprise visit. We'll
find a bit of a cove along here somewhere, I think."

He was right. About a mile and a half beyond the Squid Rocks they found
a little sheltered cove that was no more than a pocket in the cliff. The
beach was narrow, and a glance disclosed the fact that at every full
tide it was entirely submerged; but a "drook" or a narrow cleft, thickly
grown with hardy bushes, led up from the land-wash to the barrens above.
They lowered the sail and nosed their way into the cove. The streaming
skirmishers of the fog were over them by this time. They beached the
bully at the foot of the drook and made her fast.

"Keep everything aboard, and make yourself snug," said Mr. Darling.
"Watch the tide. Haul in and back off with it; and, whatever you do, lie
low and keep quiet. I am going to take a look at Chance Along--on the
sly, you understand. You'll know all about it later. Don't worry if I
don't get back within the next two or three hours."

"Ye bes after Black Dennis Nolan, sir," said Wick.

Mr. Darling nodded, placed two loaded pistols in his pocket and vanished
up the tangled slope of the drook. Wick listened to the upward
scrambling until it suddenly died away and fog and silence covered him
deep like a flood. Then he filled and lit his pipe and sat down in the
shelter of a tarpaulin to think it over. He sensed danger in the blind
choking air. He felt anxiety for his companion and fear for himself; but
curiosity and a natural courage fortified him to a certain degree.

Upon reaching the level of the barrens, Mr. Darling stood motionless for
a little while and listened intently to the vague, fog-muffled
breathing of the sea below him. He could hear nothing else. Turning to
the south he moved silently forward along a well-worn path that traced
the edge of the cliff. The fog was dense, and there was just enough wind
to keep it drifting in from the sea. Darling held a boat-hook in his
right hand and kept his eyes