* * *

They made Saint Pierre at dusk--dusk of a thick night, with the wind
blowing half a gale from the east. They had no mind to subject
themselves to those formalities which might precipitate embarrassing
disclosures; so they ran up the harbour as inconspicuously as might
be, all the while keeping a covert lookout for the skinny old craft
which they had come to cut out. The fog, drifting in as they
proceeded, added its shelter to that of the night; and they dared to
make a search.

They found her at last, lying at anchor in the isolation of government
waters--a most advantageous circumstance.

"Take the skiff 'longside, skipper," said Josiah.

"'Tis a bit risky, Josiah, b'y," said Skipper Bill. "But 'twould be
good--now, really, 'twould--'twould be good t' tread her old deck for
a spell."

"An' lay a hand to her wheel," said Josiah, with a side wink so broad
that the darkening mist could not hide it.

"An' lay a hand to her wheel," repeated the skipper. "An' lay a hand
to her wheel!"

They ran in--full into the lee of her--and rounded to under the stern.
The sails of the skiff flapped noisily and the water slapped her
sides. They rested breathless--waiting an event which might warn them
to be off into hiding in the fog. But no disquieting sound came from
the schooner--no startled exclamation, no hail, no footfall: nothing
but the creaking of the anchor chain and the rattle of the blocks
aloft. A schooner loomed up and shot past like a shadow; then
silence.

Archie gave a low hail in French. There was no response from the
_Heavenly Home_; nor did a second hail, in a raised voice, bring forth
an answering sound. It was all silent and dark aboard. So Skipper Bill
reached out with the gaff and drew the boat up the lee side. He
chuckled a bit and shook himself. It seemed to Archie that he freed
his arms and loosened his great muscles as for a fight. With a second
chuckle he caught the rail, leaped from the skiff like a cat and
rolled over on the deck of his own schooner.

They heard the thud of his fall--a muttered word or two, mixed up with
laughter--then the soft fall of his feet departing aft. For a long
time nothing occurred to inform them of what the skipper was about.
They strained their ears. In the end they heard a muffled cry, which
seemed to come out of the shoreward cloud of fog--a thud, as though
coming from a great distance--and nothing more.

"What's that?" Archie whispered.

"'