n's attention to that fact, but on turning
sharply to the lieutenant as if to speak, he was met by a low "Hist!"
which silenced him directly, while the men rowed steadily on for quite a
quarter of an hour longer, when all at once the lieutenant uttered in an
angry whisper--

"What are you doing, you clumsy scoundrel?"

For there was a sudden movement behind where they sat in the
stern-sheets, as if the man in charge of the lantern had slipped, with
the result that a dull gleam of light shone out for a few moments,
before its guardian scuffled the piece of sail-cloth by which it had
been covered, back into its place, and all was dark once more.

"Why, what were you about?" whispered the lieutenant angrily.

"Beg pardon, sir. Slipped, sir."

"Slipped! I believe you were asleep."

The man was silent.

"You were nodding off, weren't you?"

"Don't think I was, sir," was the reply.

But the man's officer was right, and the rest of the crew knew it, being
ready to a man, as they afterwards did, to declare that "that there Bill
Smith would caulk," as they termed taking a surreptitious nap, "even if
the gunboat were going down."

"Put your backs into it, my lads," whispered the lieutenant. "Now then,
with a will; but quiet, quiet!"

As he spoke the speed of the boat increased and its progress made it
more unsteady, necessitating his steadying himself by gripping Fitz by
the collar as he stood up, shading his eyes and keeping a sharp look-out
ahead.

A low hissing sound suggestive of his vexation now escaped his lips, for
to his rage and disgust he saw plainly enough that their light must have
been noticed.

Fitz Burnett had come to the same conclusion, for though he strained his
eyes with all his power, the Will-o'-the-Wisp-like light that they were
chasing had disappeared.

"Gone!" thought the boy, whose heart was now beating heavily. "They
must have seen our light and taken alarm. That's bad. No," he added to
himself, "it's good--capital, for it must mean that that was the light
of the vessel we were after. Any honest skipper wouldn't have taken the
alarm."

"Use your eyes, Burnett, my lad," whispered the lieutenant, bending
down. "We must have been close up to her when that idiot gave the
alarm. See anything?"

"No, sir."

"Oh, tut, tut, tut, tut!" came in a low muttering tone.

"Look, boy, look; we must see her somehow. How are we to go back and
face the captain if we fail like this?"

Th