figure of a man at the helm.

CHAPTER VII

THE LIEUTENANT UNMASKED

I had in truth hardly more than grasped the reality of the boat's
presence--it seemed so spectral a thing amid the mists of the
night--when it had vanished utterly once more behind the curtain of
darkness. There was no sound to convince me my eyes had not deceived;
that I had actually perceived a boat, flying before the wind, under
complete control, and headed to the northward. No echo of a voice came
across the water, no slight flap of sail, no distant creak of pulley,
or groaning of rope--merely that fleeting vision, seemingly a phantom
of imagination, a vision born from sea and cloud. Yet I knew I was not
deceived. Where the craft could be bound; for what secret purpose it
was afloat; who were aboard, were but so many unanswerable questions
arising in my mind. I stared vainly into the darkness, puzzled and
uncertain, impressed alone by the one controlling thought, that some
mysterious object, some hidden purpose alone could account for that
swift, silent passage. Where could they have come from, unless from
that strange Dutch bark riding at anchor off the point below? The
passing craft had impressed me as a ship's boat, and no craft of
fishermen; and if it really came from the _Namur of Rotterdam_, had it
been sent in answer to some signal by Sanchez? I could think of
nothing else. They must have chosen this late hour purposely; they
had doubtless endeavored to slip past us unobserved, seeking some more
desolate spot on the coast where they might land unseen. Possibly,
deceived by the night, the helmsman had approached closer to the wharf
than he had intended; yet, nevertheless, if he held to his present
course, he must surely touch shore not more than five hundred yards
distant. In all probability that was his purpose.

I stood up, tempted at first to arouse Sam, but deciding almost as
quickly that at present this was unnecessary. I had no wish to be the
occasion for laughter; it would be better first to ascertain who these
parties were, rather than create an unwarranted alarm. The reasonable
probability was they composed merely a party of innocent fishermen,
returning home after a day of sport--plantation servants possibly, who
having stolen away unobserved, were now endeavoring to beach their
stolen boat, and reach quarters without being seen. This theory
appeared far more reasonable than the other, and, if it proved true,
to arouse t