mooth water.

"Well," said he, "we're going back."

"Back!" I cried. "What's the meaning of that? We haven't made half a
search. I don't believe we've gone a hundred miles. We want to search
the whole coast, I tell you, to the lower end of Florida."

"You can't do it in this boat," he said; "she's too small."

"Why didn't you say so when we took her?"

"Well, there wasn't any other, in the first place, and besides, it
wouldn't be no good to go no further. It's more 'n four days, now, since
them boats set out. There's no chance fur anybody on 'em to be livin'."

"That's not for you to decide," I said, and I was very angry. "We want
to find our friends, dead or alive, or find some news of them, and we
want to cruise until we know there's no further chance of doing so."

"Well," said he, ringing the bell to go ahead, sharp, "I'm not decidin'
anything. I had my orders. I was to be gone twenty-four hours; an' it'll
be more 'n that by the time I get back."

"Who gave you those orders?"

"Parker and Darrell," said he.

"Then this is all a swindle," I cried. "And we've been cheated into
taking this trip for nothing at all!"

"No, it isn't a swindle," he answered, rather warmly. "They told me all
about it. They knew, an' I knew, that it wasn't no use to go looking for
two boats that had been lowered in a big storm four days ago, 'way down
on the Florida coast. But they could see that this here girl would never
give in till she'd had a chance of doin' what she thought she was called
on to do, and so they agreed to give it to her. But they told me on no
account to keep her out more 'n twenty-four hours. That would be long
enough to satisfy her, and longer than that wouldn't be right. I tell
you they know what they're about."

"Well, it wont be enough to satisfy her," I said, and then I went down
to the little deck. I couldn't make the man turn back. I thought the tug
had been hired to go wherever we chose to take her, but I had been
mistaken. I felt that we had been deceived; but there was no use in
saying anything more on the subject until we reached the city.

I did not wake Rectus to tell him the news. It would not do any good,
and I was afraid Corny might hear us. I wanted her to sleep as long as
she could, and, indeed, I dreaded the moment when she should awake, and
find that all had been given up.

We steamed along very fast now. There was no stopping anywhere. I sat on
the deck and thought a little, and doze