“He’s certain to be if he’s a seaman,” was the reply.
“Now, once more,” proceeded Johnson, “supposing you thought of giving the frigate the slip, as we might very easily do this dark night, what course would you steer?”
“I should steer to the nor’ard,” answered the mate, “so as to be to wind’ard when the change comes.”
“I knew it,” exclaimed Johnson delightedly; “I was dead certain of it. Now, we’re going to give that frigate the slip by steering to the south’ard; because her skipper will argue as you do, and when he finds he’s lost the run of us, he’ll haul up to the nor’ard directly. Now, just pass the word for the carpenter to bring along that water-cask I ordered him to rig up this afternoon.”
The word was passed, and in a minute or two three men came aft bearing what appeared to be a water-cask with a pole passed down through the bung-hole, and right out through the other side, about six feet of the pole projecting on each side of the cask. To one end of this pole was lashed a short light batten, and to the other end the men now proceeded to secure a small pig of iron ballast. This done, the whole was launched overboard from the taffrail, the cask floating bung up, with half the pole and the light batten standing perpendicularly above it like a mast. To the upper end of this batten was lashed an old horn lantern with a lighted candle in it, after which the whole apparatus was suffered to go adrift.
“Now, in stunsails, and brace sharp up on the port tack,” ordered Johnson.
This was soon done; and the brig now feeling the full strength of what little wind there was, seemed to slip along through the water quite as fast as before.
Johnson looked away out over the weather quarter to where the beacon-lantern glimmered in the intense darkness.
“There,” said he; “that’ll perhaps help to mislead ’em a bit. They’ll take it for our binnacle-light, and’ll keep straight on till they run over it. Then, finding we’ve played ’em a trick, they’ll haul straight up to the nor’ard, thinking we’ve gone that way too, and we shall soon be out of sight of one another.”
Johnson kept his gaze intently fixed upon the tiny light as long as it remained visible to the naked eye, and when it could no longer be seen in that fashion he deliberately set himself to watch it through his night-glass. More than an hour had elapsed since the cask had been sent adrift before he manifested any signs of emotion, but at length he began to chuckle audibly—