tone, though there was no stranger very near him.

"The man in the middle is the captain of that schooner you see off the
shore, sir. His mate and three of his crew have deserted the vessel, and
he can't go to sea without them," replied French.

"They say the steamer ahead is to tow the schooner out; but the captain
cannot go because he has only two men left," added Lines, the other man
of the pair.

"Do you know where to find Nos. One and Two?" continued the leader of
the expedition.

"I do not, sir; for we keep clear of each other, as we were ordered,"
answered French, as he looked about him for the men designated.

"You two will separate, and find One and Two. Send them to me, and I
will wait here for them," added Christy; and the men departed on the
errand. "While I am waiting for them, Mr. Graines, you may go down to
that group, and pick up what information you can."

The engineer sauntered down the declivity, smoking his cigar, and making
himself as much at home on the enemy's territory as though he had been
the commander of the Confederate fort. Christy was not kept long in
waiting, and the first pair that reported to him were Weeks and Bingham.
No. One. The former was the oiler who had been selected on account of
his ingenuity and good judgment by Graines.

"Are you a sailor as well as a machinist, Weeks?" asked Christy.