uspected to be a summons to heave-to, though the craft was too
far away for the signal to be plainly read.

He at once informed Drake, who promptly went down to the engine-room and
gave the chief engineer a few private instructions, with the result
that, presently, dense volumes of smoke began to pour out of the
_Quernmore's_ funnel, and her speed quickened up until Frobisher judged
her to be doing quite sixteen knots. Then he and Drake took turns at
watching the war-ship astern, when it soon became evident that, even if
she was not increasing the distance, the _Quernmore_ was at least
holding her own.

That this was apparent to the commander of the gunboat was demonstrated
shortly afterwards, when a puff of white smoke broke out from her bows,
and the distant boom of a gun floated down to them.

"I feared as much," exclaimed Drake, uneasily; "but I believe we shall
get clear unless that fellow's firing brings a cruiser out from Plymouth
to stop us. But,"--brightening up a little--"I fancy we are too far
over toward the French side for anything of that sort; so, if we can
only keep ahead, I think we shall pull out safely."

The gunboat continued firing, and after a time began to send solid shot
after the flying _Quernmore_, as a stronger hint to heave-to; but her
guns were not powerful enough for the range, and the shot dropped
harmlessly into the water far away astern. She was still in sight when
darkness fell, but had lost ground badly during the day; and when the
following morning dawned she was out of sight below the horizon.

This was the only attempt made to stop Drake in English waters; and he
was shortly afterward safely in the Bay of Biscay.

There is no need to describe in detail the voyage to the East, since it
was entirely uneventful. They stopped at Port Said to coal; coaled
again at Colombo and Hongkong; and then headed straight for the Korean
coast, neither Drake nor Frobisher having taken particular notice of the
P&O liner that had left England the day after themselves, and steamed
out of Colombo harbour just as the _Quernmore_ was entering it. Neither
did they observe the fashionably-dressed, yellow-skinned gentleman on
board the liner who treated them to such a close scrutiny through a pair
of field-glasses. They had, for the moment, forgotten all about their
Korean friend of the docks; and, in any case, would hardly have expected
to find him on the first-class promenade deck of a crack ocea