officer.

"Steamer on the port bow, sir!" reported the man aloft.

Scott saw the vessel, but she was too far off to be made out. She passed
and disappeared; but about the moment he lost sight of her, he thought he
heard the report of a musket, or some other firearm, to the northward of
the ship. He listened with all his ears, and then distinguished very
faintly shouts from human voices. He waited only long enough to satisfy
himself that he had not mistaken the roar of the sea for calls for help,
and then went forward to the pilot-house, where he announced that he had
heard the shots and the cries.

"Are you sure of it, Mr. Scott?" asked the first officer.

"Very sure, sir."

"We have heard nothing, and the lookouts have not reported anything," added
Mr. Boulong.

"On deck, sir! Wreck on the port beam!" yelled the lookout aloft.

"Call the captain, Mr. Scott," said the first officer, as he went out on
deck.

He made out the ominous sounds, and judged that they came from a point not
more than a mile distant. The commander and Scott appeared immediately; and
with the increased daylight they discovered several men clinging to what
appeared to be a wreck.