. The killing of that officer was all that saved our
bacon."

"Oh, I hope he wasn't killed!" exclaimed Marcy.

"You do, hey? Well, I don't. I'd like to see the last blockader on this
coast tumbled into the drink in the same way. What did the old man say
about it?"

"Not a word. I think he was too surprised to say anything."

"Was anybody hurt by that shell?" continued Morgan. "I seen the jib
flying in the wind and the rail ripped up, and you and the old man was
standing right there."

"Something or other knocked both of us flatter than pancakes," answered
Marcy. "The captain must have been hit all over; but I was struck only
on the arm, and I don't seem to have much use of it any more."

"You can go forward and lookout for the buoys, can't you? All right.
Sing out when ever you see one, and I will stay here and take her
through while the cap'n gets that headsail out of the way."

Before obeying this order Marcy stopped long enough to level the glass
toward the place where he supposed the launch to be. Having worked the
water out of the cylinders the engineer had shut off the stop-cocks so
that she could not be heard, and as there was no flame shooting out of
her smoke-stack, she could not be seen; but she was still on top of the
water, and eager to do mischief. While Marcy was moving his glass around
trying to locate her, the howitzer spoke again; but as the schooner took
the wind free after rounding the first buoy, her course was changed, so
that the shell passed behind her, and exploded far ahead and to the
right.

"You've got your wish," said Morgan. "That shot means that they have
picked up their cap'n, and that he's as full of fight as ever. Well, let
him bang away, if he wants to. He can't hurt the sand-hills, and this
channel is so crooked that he won't hit us except by accident."

"But he will follow in our wake, won't he?"

"Who cares if he does so long as he don't sight us? We'll dodge him easy
enough after we get into the Sound. Now toddle for'ard and look out for
me."

["It's an ill wind that blows nobody good," thought the boy, as he
leaned his uninjured arm upon the splintered rail and brought the glass
to his eye. "This night's work will put an end to the _Hattie's_
blockade-running. If that fellow astern don't catch us, he will surely
find and pull up the buoys, and then we can't follow the channel except
by sending a boat on ahead with a lead-line. That might do when we were
going out, but