ates close astern, and another hour went by
before the three vessels had passed our hiding-place.

Then we watched eagerly, expecting to see the rocket-ships and
bomb-vessels appear; but they did not heave in sight, although it
seemed to me as if they should have been close behind the larger ships
in order to take advantage of the labor being performed by those on
board the schooner.

When half an hour had passed, and the river, so far as we could see in
either direction, was free from craft of any kind, Darius bestowed a
resounding slap upon his leg as he cried angrily:

"What an old fool I am, to be sure! In two years more, if I keep on
runnin' down hill, I won't be able to tell my own nose from somebody's
else, even when it's pulled."

"What's the matter now?" I asked in surprise.

"What's the matter, lad? Can't you see that only part of the fleet is
goin' up stream? If the other ships counted on leavin' anchorage
they'd been in the wake of the frigates. We're shut in here between
two ends of the British force, an' likely to stay quite a spell."

There could be no question but that he was right, and I sat staring at
him like a stupid, the dreams in which I had been indulging
disappearing like mist before the morning sun. Of a verity mother and
the children were further from me than when we had crouched in the
smoke-house at Washington with General Ross' army close at hand.

"What _can_ we do?" I asked at length.

"That's a question easier asked than answered," the old man replied as
if he had come to an end of his ideas. "While your father is wounded
beyond the power of walkin', we're anchored to the pungy, so to
speak."

"What would you do if he was in good shape?"

"It couldn't be such a terrible tough voyage to strike across the
country from here to Benedict, leavin' the pungy in the creek till the
Britishers get tired of foolin' around in the Potomac; but it's no use
to spend breath on what can't be done. Our crew will hang together,
whatever comes. Let's go an' report; it won't do us any good to stay
here."

We paddled slowly back to our comrades, and when we had told them the
situation of affairs they were in as much of a muddle as had been
Darius and I.

"There's no tellin' how long the frigates will stay 'round
Washington," Captain Hanaford said, and then, as a sudden thought came
to him, he added, "I'm gettin' the best of this scrape, I reckon. If
the pungy was where you lads found her, she'd