"I will."
"Give me your hand. We shall be comrades in many a fight. I am Captain Harry Vernon of the Lively Bee."
[CHAPTER II.]
THE DEPARTURE.
Out in the bay the American fleet was preparing to depart.
Commodore Rodgers had just heard of the declaration of war, and he was afraid that the order to detain him in the harbor would be signed and delivered to him before he could start.
He called Captains Bainbridge and Stewart and Porter to the flagship and asked abruptly:
"How long before you can sail?"