his having been captured.
Still, there are six hours to run yet before midnight, and he may return
even at the very last moment. Let us hope that he will. And now, men,
give me some supper, for I have eaten nothing since I left you this
morning."

The time between then and midnight was passed by Dick in a state of
feverish suspense, that toward the end became almost unendurable,
causing him to start and jump at every trivial sound that reached his
ear. A dozen times at least he sprang to his feet with the joyous
exclamation of "Here he is!" when the flutter of a dry leaf falling from
its parent bough, the soft rustle of foliage in the night wind, or the
movement of some restless bird broke the silence of that secluded spot;
but he was always mistaken. The Captain came not; and at length his
watch informed him that the time was half an hour after midnight. Then
he rose to his feet with a sigh of bitter disappointment and said:

"It is no good, lads; we must not delay our departure any longer; we
have allowed the Captain half an hour's grace, and if he could have come
he would have been with us before now. Without doubt he is a prisoner,
and we can best serve him now by returning to the ship with all speed
and reporting the fact of his capture to the others, who must then
decide whether or not we shall sail into the harbour, attack the town,
and endeavour to rescue him. Cast off the painter, and let us be moving
without further delay."

Almost careless now whether or not they attracted attention, they hauled
the boat out from her place of concealment and, stepping the masts,
hoisted their sails and got under way, the wind just permitting them to
lay their course down past the sand spit and out through the entrance of
the cove into the lower bay without breaking tacks. Then, to save time,
Dick determined to risk the passage of the Boca Chica, the usual harbour
entrance, instead of taking the longer route out to sea behind the
island of Baru, relying upon the indifferent lookout of the sentinels as
reported by Marshall to enable the boat to pass undetected. In this
they were completely successful, the occupants of the batteries giving
no sign that the passage of the boat had been observed; and half an hour
after emerging from their place of concealment they found themselves
safely clear of everything and out at sea.

The night was dark but clear, with a fresh land breeze blowing, and a
sky heavily flecked with