signal-light
whatever, would be the others guarding what they would like to have us
mistake for an open passage in the dark.

Their sending up so many signals indicated a bewilderment as to our
whereabouts. By this time they must have known ashore that we were not
anchored inside the bar; and out to sea they must have known we had not
foundered in the surf, and also by this time they had probably
discovered that we were not in the lagoon.

"They will puzzle it out soon. Get your floating mines ready," ordered
Captain Blaise. That was my work, and in anticipation of it I had
knocked together two small rafts loaded with explosives and a large one
with explosives and combustible stuff to burn brightly for half an hour
or so.

"What does this mean?" Miss Cunningham was at Captain Blaise's elbow.
She could not have asked a question more pleasing to him.

"It means that we are like a rat in a hole with half a dozen big cats
guarding the exit. It is an acutely angled corner we are in, Miss
Shiela, and a string of corvettes and sloops-of-war stretched, no
knowing just where, across the narrow way out. So far they do not know
we are here, but before long it is bound to occur to some of them that
this is the _Dancing Bess_ and that she has made the Momba River
passage--and then they will crowd in and pounce on us. That is, if we
don't get out before that."

"I see. I must go down and tell father. He's not worrying, but he wants
to know what's going on."

He let the brigantine now run offshore, parallel with the southern bank,
almost to the entrance. Then we doubled back on our course. As we came
about he called, "Ready with your mines, Guy?"

"Ready, sir!"

"Let go!"

At the word over went the big raft. We sailed on for a quarter mile or
so. "Let go!" Over went the second. A quarter mile farther and the third
one went. Each mine had its time-fuse. In a very few minutes--the _Bess_
was in by the corner of the delta again--the inshore mine exploded.

Following the noise and flame there was a quiet and a great darkness,
and then from the southerly guard-ship a rocket, while from the shore
burst forth new lights. If the surf had not been roaring, we knew that
we could have heard those joyful yells from the watchers up that way.
Everybody on the coast knew that the _Bess_ carried two long-toms and no
lack of ammunition for them. We could imagine their chuckling over our
explosion.

Then came the second explosion, and fi