orward, sir, as he'd
take a spell now, ready for running her round the head into the bay."

"Where is that man?"

There was no reply, and more quickly than he had moved for months, the
lieutenant trotted aft, and looked over the stern for the fisherman's
boat.

It was gone.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

Lieutenant brough went into a fit of passion. Not a noisy, sea-going
fit of passion, full of loud words, such as are not found in
dictionaries, but a rising and falling, swelling and collapsing, silent
fit of passion, as moment by moment he realised more and more that he
had been victimised, and that he had been sent forward to quiet the men
so as to give the big rough fellow an opportunity to creep over into his
boat and cut the painter by which it was made fast, and let it glide
away on the tide till it was safe to thrust an oar over astern, and,
using it like a fish does its tail, paddle softly away close under the
rocks to some hole, or perhaps round into the bay.

For a moment the lieutenant thought of manning the boats and sending in
pursuit, but he knew that such an act would be madness; and, accepting
his position, he suddenly gave the order for four men to go into each
boat, and begin to tow the cutter, while a few of the crew put out the
sweeps to get her a little farther from the cliff to catch the breeze.

Half an hour later the boats were ordered in, sail was being set, and
the cutter was again moving swiftly through the water.

But the wind was dead ahead now, and though the _White Hawk_ could use
her wings well even in such a breeze, and sail very close, it was far
different work getting back to coming away.

The men were not forbidden to talk, and they were not long in grasping
the situation, while their commanding officer went up and down the deck,
fuming and taking himself to task more seriously than any captain had
done since he first went to sea.

"Only to think of me, after what I have learned of their shifts and
tricks, letting myself be taken in by such a transparent dodge. Oh,
it's maddening!"

He looked up at the sails, and longed to clap on more, but it was
useless. The little craft was doing her best, and the water surged
under her bow as she took a long stretch seaward, before tacking for the
land.

"There's not a doubt of it," muttered the lieutenant. "I know it--I'm
sure of it. I deserve to lose my rank. How could I have been such a
blind, idiotic baby!"

He was obliged to