"Go ahead and keep a watch. My idea is that they have not gone as far as this yet."
"An idea that you are quite welcome to, my man!" was Dick's thought. "Everybody thinks that his idea is the only correct one."
Bob was hailed by the other boat as he followed Dick closely, and answered gruffly:
"Port, captain! Keep a watch below there, and keep a sharper eye on your duty. The rebels may have gone down the river, for all you know. There is no good in looking one way only."
"Aye, aye, sir!" and the boat went down the river.
The ship was passed in safety, the boats being supposed to be filled with middies and bluejackets, and no questions were asked. There were dangers ahead of the boys, however, and they all realized that running the blockade was not going to be as easy a matter as one might think.
CHAPTER XII.–On the River.
There were other ships up the river, and there were the chevaux-de-frise which the patriots had constructed to keep the enemy out, and which would now be a hindrance to the boys. They must get beyond the ships and the obstructions before dawn, or they would be captured, and they all realized the dangers to be met. It was better for the two boats to keep together, but in case they were beset, it might be wiser for them to separate and the boys understood this. They had passed the ships nearest to their hiding place, and unless the alarm spread to those farther up the river, it might not be so hard to pass these also.
The alarm might be carried alongshore, however, and there might be boats out watching for parties of patriots trying to get over to the Jersey shore, and all these things must be taken into consideration in pushing forward. The boys rowed steadily, all of them being accustomed to being on the water, and their progress was steady if not very rapid, it being dark on the river, and the current and the tide being both against them.