now. If it comes to a race, every foot is
of importance."

Up to now they had been rowing in an easy and leisurely manner, avoiding
all appearance of haste. They now bent to their oars, and the boat began
to travel a good deal faster through the water. Vincent glanced over his
shoulder frequently at the steam launch.

"She is keeping straight on in the middle of the channel, Tony;
evidently she hasn't noticed us yet."

Ten minutes after passing the ship he exclaimed sharply:

"Row, Tony, as hard as you can! The launch has just passed that ship,
and has changed her course. I expect the captain has called their
attention to us. It's a race now."

The boat, at the moment the launch changed her course, was rather more
than halfway between the center of the channel and the shore. The launch
was in the center of the channel, and three-quarters of a mile higher
up. She had evidently put on steam as she started to cut off the boat,
for there was now a white wave at her bow.

"I think we shall do it, Tony," Vincent said. "I don't suppose she can
go above eight miles an hour, and we are certainly going four, and she
has more than twice as far to travel as we have."

Those on board the launch were evidently conscious that they were likely
to lose the race, for in a few minutes they began to open fire with
their rifles.

"Fire away!" Vincent said. "You aint likely to hit us a thousand yards
off, and we haven't another three hundred to row."

The bullets whistled overhead, but none of them struck the water within
many yards of the boat, and the launch was still four or five hundred
yards away when the bow of the boat touched the shore. Several muskets
were discharged, and Vincent and Tony leaped out and plunged into the
bushes that came down to the water's edge. The launch sent up a sharp
series of whistles, and random shots were for some time fired into the
bushes.

"It is lucky she didn't carry a small gun in her bows," Vincent said,
"for though seven or eight hundred yards is a long range for a rifle,
they might likely enough have hit us if they had had a gun. Now, Tony,
we shall have to be careful, for those whistles are no doubt meant as
an alarm; and although she cannot tell who we are, she will probably
steam up, and if they have any forces opposite Bermuda will give them
news that two suspicious characters have landed, and they will have
parties out to look for us."

"Dey can look as long as dey like, sah. Ef