o one in Clif's position that might
well set one's heart to beating wildly.

If the steamer should escape by reason of superior speed, it would
bring joy to the crew, but disaster to Clif, their helpless prisoner.
If, on the other hand, a shot from the flagship should sink the Spanish
boat, Clif perforce would share death with them. Little wonder that
brave as he was, he struggled anxiously to free his arms and legs from
their bonds.

"The New York can never catch us," he exclaimed, when he had settled
down to watching the flagship as best he could. "She is too far away,
and this boat is too fast."

There was little need of the searchlight now, as dawn was approaching.
The forms of the ships could be distinguished in the uncertain light
without its aid.

Clif had been watching the flagship which was astern, but now, looking
forward, he saw a beam of light in that direction. It was several miles
out to sea, and shot across their path.

"That must be the Wilmington," he exclaimed, cheered by a suddenly
revived hope. "She can cut across our path, and all may yet be well."

He looked back at the flagship and saw the red and the blue signal
lights flashing their message to the ship ahead which was, as Clif
surmised, the Wilmington. They also carried a message to Clif, nor was
their meaning lost upon the Spanish crew.

"They have signaled the Wilmington to intercept her," exclaimed Clif.
"But it will be a close race."

He heard the signal from the excited captain of the Spanish boat for
more speed, and the throbbing of the machinery told that they were
endeavoring in the engine rooms to carry out the order. It seemed as if
the engines were already doing their utmost, but Clif could notice a
slight increase in the headway they were making.

It was a fast boat and no mistake, Clif thought, as he anxiously
strained his eyes to see what the Wilmington was doing.

Answering signals told that she had received the order from the
flagship, and that those orders would be obeyed. Clif fervently hoped
that she would be successful. He hated to think of the possibility of a
hostile ship succeeding in running the blockade, and now this patriotic
impulse was heightened by the fact that he was a helpless prisoner on
board the very boat that promised to accomplish that feat.

For, as he watched the race, there was a growing conviction in Clif's
mind that the Wilmington was so far out to sea that she could not hope
to stop the Sp