“Ay, ay, sir!” cried the man, and he began to take soundings, one of the sailors in the second cutter receiving his orders and beginning to follow the example set.
Then there was a hail from the lugger.
“What game do you call this?”
“Soundings,” replied the lieutenant gruffly.
“Twenty fathom for miles up, and you can go close inshore if you like. It’s all alike.”
“P’raps so,” said the officer, “but my orders are to sound.”
“Sound away, then,” said the American sourly; “but do you want to be a week?” And he relapsed into silence, till about a couple of miles of the course of the wide river had been covered, sounding after sounding being taken, which proved the perfect truth of the American’s words.
Then the two cutters closed up and there was a brief order given by the first lieutenant, which resulted in the second cutter beginning to make its way back to where the sloop lay in the mouth of the estuary.
“What yer doing now?” came from the lugger.
“Sending word to the sloop that there’s plenty of water and that she may come on.”