n down was
without living men upon her decks had taken the lilt from the seamen's
merry tongues, and a gloom settled on us all. Perhaps it was more than
a mere surmise, for an uncanny feeling of something dreadful to come
took hold of me, and I feared that, finding the yacht, we had also
found the devil's work; but I held my peace on that, and made up my
mind to act.

"Skipper," said I, "order a boat out; I'm going aboard her."

He looked at me, and shook his head.

"When the wind falls, perhaps; but now!" and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Is there any sign that the breeze will drop?"

"None at present; but I'll tell you more in an hour. Meanwhile," and
here he whispered, "get your pistols out and say nothing to the men. I
shall follow her."

His advice was wise; and as the dark began to fall and the night breeze
to blow fresh, while the yacht ahead of us swung here and there, almost
making circles about us, we hove to for the time and watched her. I
begged Mary to go below, but she received the suggestion with
merriment.

"Go below, when the men say there's fun coming! Why should I go below?"

"Because it may be serious fun."

She took my arm, and linking herself closely to me as to a brother, she
said--

"Because there's danger to you and to Roderick; isn't that it, Mark?"

"Not to us any more than to the men; and there may be no danger, of
course. It's only a thought of mine."

"And of mine, too. I shall stay where I am, or Roderick will go to
sleep."

"What does Roderick say?"

He had joined us on the starboard side, and was gazing over the sea at
the pursued yacht, which lay shaking dead in the wind's eye, but Mary's
question upset whatever speculation he had entered upon.

"I've got an opinion," he drawled, with a yawn.

"You don't say so----"

"The wind's falling, and it's getting beastly dark."

"Two fairly obvious conclusions; do you think you could keep
sufficiently awake to help man the boat?--in another ten minutes we
shall see nothing."

"Do you think I'm a fool, that I'm going to stop here?"

"Forgive me, but I'm getting anxious. Martin Hall sailed on that yacht;
and I promised to help him--but there's no need for you to do anything,
you know."

"No need when you are going--pshaw, I'll fetch my Colt, and Mary shall
watch us. I don't think she is afraid of much, are you, Rats?"--he
called her "Rats" because they were the one thing on earth she
feared--and then he went below, and