er the water. As the breeze still blew fitfully from the north
we again embarked and held our way through the winding channels--at times
these channels would grow wider only again to close together; but there
was no current, and the large high sail moved us slowly through the
water. When it became dark a fire suddenly appeared on an island some
distance ahead. Thomas Hope grasped his flint gun and seemed to think the
supreme moment had at length arrived. During the evening I could tell by
the gestures and looks of the men that the mysterious rovers formed the
chief subject of conversation, and our latest accession painted so
vividly their various suspicious movements, that Thomas was more than
ever convinced his hour was at hand. Great then was the excitement when
the fire was observed upon the island, and greater still when I told
Samuel to steer full towards it. As we approached we could distinguish
figures moving to and fro between us and the bright flame, but when we
had got within a few hundred yards of the spot the light was suddenly
extinguished, and the ledge of rock upon which it had been burning became
wrapped in darkness. We hailed, but there was no reply. Whoever had been
around the fire had vanished through the trees; launching their canoe
upon the other side of the island, they had paddled away through the
intricate labyrinth scared by our sudden appearance in front of their
lonely bivouac. This apparent confirmation of his worst fears in no way
served to reanimate the spirits of Hope, and though shortly after he lay
down with the other men in the bottom of the boat, it was not without
misgivings as to the events which lay before him in the darkness. One man
only remained up to steer, for it was my intention to run as long as the
breeze, faint though it was, lasted. I had been asleep about half an hour
when I felt my arm quickly pulled, and, looking up, beheld Samuel bending
over me, while with one hand he steered the boat. "Here they are," he
whispered, "here they are." I looked over the gunwale and under the sail
and beheld right on the course we were steering two bright fires burning
close to the water's edge. We were running down a channel which seemed to
narrow to a strait between two islands, and presently a third fire came
into view on the other side of the strait, showing distinctly the narrow
pass towards which we were steering, it did not appear to be more than
twenty feet across it, and, from its e