sily be out of sight before
the pursuers arrived there; and, if that happened, it was not unlikely
that the latter might abandon the chase as hopeless.

It soon became evident, however, that the rebels were not going to be
thrown off so easily; for, as the fleet emerged upon the broad bosom of
the Han and began to turn westward, Frobisher perceived that the
pursuing squadron was not a very long distance behind, and was
undoubtedly overhauling them rapidly. He was at first at a loss to
understand how this could be, but a few minutes later his quick ear
caught a certain sound floating down the breeze--a steady, monotonous,
throbbing sound, something like--Ah, he had it now! Could it be
possible?

Yes, undoubtedly it was the throbbing of machinery and the quick,
muffled puffing of exhaust-steam. Evidently the rebels had discovered
something that the troops had overlooked--a small steamer, or pinnace;
had promptly raised steam in her, probably by firing up with plenty of
oil and wood so as to obtain power quickly; and were utilising the craft
to tow their squadron downstream, which, when once the boats had been
put in motion, would be a much quicker method of progression than the
use of sails and sweeps alone.

In any case, the rebels were quickly overhauling them; and before
another hour had passed, Frobisher, continuing to watch the race with
absorbed interest, saw a streak of flame cut the rearward darkness, and
almost immediately he heard a vicious hum close above his head, followed
shortly afterwards by the whiplike crack of a distant report. They were
well within range, then; and it was clear that the pursuers must be
armed with modern rifles, for a smooth-bore would not have sent a bullet
nearly so far.

There was instantly an outburst of excitement among the soldiers;
muskets and rifles were hastily unslung and loaded, and a sharp fire was
opened over the sterns of the various craft. But apparently only very
few of the weapons employed were equal to the range, for Frobisher could
distinctly see that the missiles were falling short, by the little
spirts of foam which shone white in the moonlight where the bullets
struck the water and ricochetted off. A moment later a much bigger
flash burst from the bow of the little steamer, which could now be
plainly made out as a small craft driven by a screw, and had the
appearance of a launch that might have at one time belonged to a
battleship; and the next moment a