"Thank you for your warning," a voice shouted back from the boats, and then an order was given, and they rowed back to the ships.
"Well, have you found the place, Lieutenant Pearson?" the captain of the frigate asked as the young lieutenant stepped on deck.
"Yes, sir, we have found it. It is just where the boat turned and came out again."
"I can see no signs of it now," the captain said, examining the shore with his telescope.
"No, sir; you wouldn't until you were within a hundred yards of it. But rowing close in as we were we saw it some time before we got there. The rocks overlap each other, and there is a narrow channel some fifty yards long between them. Apparently this makes a sharp turn at the other end and opens out. We saw nothing of the vessels we were chasing yesterday, but on high ground facing the channel there is a battery of six guns planted so as to rake anything coming in. There are some chains across the end. While we were lying on our oars there we were hailed." And he then repeated the warning that had been given.
"Nasty place to get into—eh?" the captain said thoughtfully.
"Very nasty, sir. You see, the guns would play right down into the channel; then there are the chains to break down, and perhaps more batteries, and certainly the ships to tackle when we get inside."
"Is there width for the frigate to enter?" the captain asked.
"Just width, I should say, and no more, sir. We should certainly have to get the yards braced fore and aft, but the ship herself would go through with something to spare, I should say."
"What depth of water is there close in shore?"