e was she now? The answer did not come to the watchers who with
straining eyes strove to make out the long, low, dark hull, the one
mast, and the dwarfed and massive funnel, but strove in vain.

Fitz's heart sank, for the successful issue of his exploit seemed to be
fading away, and minute by minute it grew more evident that there was
not the slightest likelihood of their discovering the object of their
search; so that in a voice tinged by the despair he felt, he whispered
his orders to the boatswain to tell the men to cease rowing.

Then for what seemed to be quite a long space of time, they lay rising
and falling upon the heaving sea, listening, straining their eyes, but
all in vain; and at last, warned by the feeling that unless something
was done they were bound to lose touch of their position when they
wanted to make back for the mouth of the little river, Fitz whispered an
order to the boatswain to keep the gig's head straight off shore, and
then turned to lay his hand on Poole's shoulder and, with his lips close
to his ear, whisper--

"What's to be done?"

"Don't know," came back. "This is a regular floorer."

The boy's heart sank lower still at this, but feeling that he was in
command, he made an effort to pull himself together.

"In the bright lexicon of youth there is no such word as fail," seemed
to begin ringing as if at a great distance into his ears, and he rose up
in his place, steadied himself by a hand on his companion's shoulder,
and slowly swept the horizon; that is to say, the lower portion of the
sky, to which the stars did not descend.

In vain!

There was no sign of gunboat funnel, nothing to help them in the least,
and coming to the conclusion that their only chance of finding her was
by quartering the sea as a sporting dog does a field, and at the same
time telling himself that the task was hopeless, he bent down to try if
he could get a hint from the boatswain, when he muttered to himself the
words that had now ceased to ring, and his heart gave quite a jump. For
apparently about a hundred yards away there appeared a faint speck of
light which burned brightly for a few moments before with a sudden dart
it described a curve, descending towards the level of the sea; and then
all was black again.

For a moment or two the darkness upon the sea seemed to lie there
thicker and heavier than ever, till, faint, so dim that it was hardly
visible, the lad was conscious of a tiny light which b