CHAPTER XV
"THE RIGHT BOAT AND THE RIGHT CREW!"
Three hours later, under a new order from Washington, the gunboat's
launch stole in alongside of a second schooner that had been pursued,
overhauled and brought to a standstill.
This craft, however, proved to be a Nova Scotian vessel, with papers all
right, a cargo beyond suspicion and no sign of the fugitive Gray aboard.
When news of this second failure had been flashed to Washington, and
twenty minutes more had passed, the instructions came back out of the
ether:
"Cruise slowly about where you are. Await new instructions, which will
go forward to you as soon as we have fresh, reliable information from
any source. See that your own search light is freely used through the
night."
"'Puss in the Corner,' at sea," muttered Lieutenant Benson. "And we
ain't even find a corner."
An hour later the young commander of the "Sudbury" turned in. Hal was
on the bridge.
The gunboat cruised along lazily at about eight knots an hour. For
some time Hal paced the bridge indolently, while the sailor lookout,
forward, manipulated the searchlight, sending its beam in wide circles
over the waters.
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