" he said; "he is not likely to come, and if he did, they'd hear his
canoe, and nail him. What time did he say?"

"Time? There was no time named."

"Then how shall we know, my lad? We can't watch for him all night."

"Why not?" said Don excitedly. "It seems to be our last chance."

"Well, I dunno," said Jem, gloomily; "it don't seem to me like a chance
at all. But I'll do what you do, my lad. I'll stand by you."

"Then let's begin our watch at once, after we've put a rope overboard
from the forechains, so as to slip down when the canoe comes."

"And what then?"

"Then, Jem, we must swim to it, and they'll take us aboard."

"And the sharks, my lad?"

"Sharks!" said Don despairingly. "I'd forgotten them."

"That's what I used to do, but you always remembered."

"Jem," said Don, after a pause, "we must chance the sharks. They will
not see us in the dark."

"But if--No; I won't show the white feather, Mas' Don," said Jem. "Come
on, and we'll get a rope over to starboard and larboard too."

"No need, Jem," said Don. "The canoe is sure to come from the land
side."

"All right, sir. Come on, and don't say another word."

Jem crept away, keeping in the shadow, and moving very slowly, so as not
to attract the attention of the watch, and Don followed, while, as soon
as he had gone a few yards, what looked like a dog slowly crept by on
all fours close beneath the bulwark, after getting up from a crouching
position just by where the pair had been discussing their chances of
escape.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

THE ALARM.

There were so many opportunities for lying _perdu_ on the deck of a
man-of-war on a dark night that the shadowy figure had no difficulty in
keeping pretty close to Don Lavington and his companion as, decided now
upon their course of action, they laid hold upon a stout line where it
was coiled up, and after running a sufficiency over the side to touch
water, made it fast close to the main chains.

This done, they went cautiously forward so as to avoid the watch, and
after being nearly seen, more than once, succeeded in getting a second
line over the side close to the fore chains, in happy unconsciousness of
the fact that the shadowy-looking figure was watching every movement.

As is the fashion aboard a man-of-war, the actors in this scene were
barefooted, and thus able to pass quietly along the well-scrubbed deck;
but unfortunately for them, the sailor playing the spy had the same