pursued; night fled, and in its place was a blistering day,
full grown. The breeze had died, however, and the _Stella_ wallowed in a
glassy calm, her sails slatting, her booms creaking, her gear
complaining to the drunken roll. The slow swells heeled her first to one
side, then to the other, the decks grew burning hot; no faintest ripple
stirred the undulating surface of the Caribbean. Afar, the Haytian hills
wavered and danced through a veil of heat. The slender topmast described
long measured arcs across the sky, like a schoolmaster's pointer; from
its peak the halyards whipped and bellied.

"Captain!" The 'Bajan waited for recognition. "Captain!" Inocencio
looked up finally. "There--toward Jacmel--there is smoke. See! We have
been watching it."

The mulatto nodded.

"The smoke of a ship."

"Ah! A ship!" Inocencio smiled and the negro recoiled suddenly. All
night long the master of the _Stella_ had sat upon the deck-house,
staring at the sea and smoking. At times he had laughed and whispered to
some one whom the helmsman could not see, but this was the first time he
had smiled at any member of his crew. In fact, it was the first time the
sailor had ever seen him smile. The 'Bajan withdrew and went forward to
consult with his fellows. They eyed their employer curiously, fearfully,
for much had happened to alarm them, not the least of which had been a
furious commotion from below. Frightful curses had issued from the
cabin, threats which had caused their limbs to tremble, but they had
affected the captain like soothing music. It was very strange. It caused
the sailors to look with concern upon that thin, low streamer in the
distance; it led them to go aft in a body finally and speak their minds.

"The smoke is growing larger," they declared, and Inocencio roused
himself sufficiently to look. "It is the war-ship. We are pursued. Who
is this big man below?"

"He is a--friend of mine, Petithomme Laguerre--"

"Laguerre!"

"What did I tell you?" exclaimed the 'Bajan, breathlessly.

"What shall we do?" one of them inquired in a panic. "That smoke! The
wind has forsaken us." He shuffled his bare feet uncomfortably. "We will
be shot for this."

Inocencio tossed away his cigarette and rose; he lifted his eyes aloft.
The slim topmast arrested his attention as it swept across the sky, and
he watched it for a moment; then to the giant sailor he said: "You will
find a new rope forward. Make it fast to the end of this ha