"Sh! sh! back quick!"
Chester whispered the warning, and Alvin without pausing to ask the reason swung the paddle so powerfully that the gentle forward motion was checked, and the boat moved in the other direction. Two or three strokes carried it so far that the launch and all pertaining to it were swallowed up in the gloom.
Waiting till it was safe to speak, the Captain asked:
"What did you see, Chester?"
"A man," was the reply.
"In what part of the launch?"
"He was standing in front of the cockpit, about half way between it and the flagstaff."
"Then he saw us."
"No; for he was looking toward the shore to which this boat had gone. Had he turned his head, he must have noticed us."
Alvin held the reverse motion until they felt it safe to talk without dropping into whispers.