board from seeing the flag.

"We must make our fire blaze up brightly as soon as night falls," said
the mate.

"Yas, Massa Shobbrok, we make it blaze, neber fear," said Nub,
readjusting the faggots, and shoving in a few handfuls of dry leaves
under them.

"If the wind holds, she will be down in time to see our signal,"
observed the mate.

"Oh, I do hope so," exclaimed Alice. "Is the ship standing towards the
shore, do you think?"

"She is certainly not standing away from it," answered the mate; "but I
doubt whether the wind will keep up. It has dropped since I came here."

They stood intently watching the sail, too anxious to talk. Already the
shades of night were stealing over the ocean. The sun went down, and
the vessel's white canvas changed to an inky hue. Still the mate could
discern her, and he declared that she was a brigantine or a
square-topsail schooner. Gradually, however, the wind dropped, and the
ocean assumed a glass-like appearance. There could be little doubt that
by this time the stranger was becalmed. But darkness now came on, and
completely shut her out from sight.

The mate having struck a light, the fire soon blazed up brightly. "Put
on more faggots, Nub," he cried. "She may stand nearer the shore if the
breeze gets up again; but she is as likely to stand away from us, and we
may not have so good an opportunity of being seen as now."

Walter ran off to a distance, so as to be out of the glare of the fire,
and peered with all his might into the darkness; but no vessel could he
see, and he began to fear that she must, as the mate had thought
probable, have stood away from the land. His heart fell, but he did not
like to tell Alice.

All of them were still too anxious to leave the spot. They were at
length joined by the doctor, who surmised where they had gone from
seeing the glare of the fire in the distance. The mate advised Alice
and Walter to go back to the house; but they both declared that they
should not sleep a wink, and would much rather remain where they were.
"Perhaps the fire may be seen, and a boat sent on shore from the vessel
to ascertain the cause of it," said Walter.

"She is too far off, I suspect, for the fire to be seen," answered the
mate. "We must have patience. Daylight will come at last, and the
matter will then be settled."

"But suppose she has sailed away," said Walter.

"Oh, don't think of such a dreadful thing," cried Alice.

"If she has, we