"Look there!" cried Nat suddenly, seizing the captain's sleeve and pointing through a porthole, which looked out on the deck.
The captain looked, but could see nothing. He turned to the boy who seemed strangely excited and was pale and trembling.
"What was it?" he asked. "What did you see, Nat?"
"A face!" was the startling reply. "It was peering in through that porthole at us, but the instant I looked up it vanished."
"Was it a man's face?" asked Captain Akers, deeply interested. The others were off at another part of the cabin and Nat was glad, for he did not wish them to hear the alarming intelligence.
"Yes, it was a man's face, as well as I can describe it. But it was a terrible one. It was hairy and had two little beady eyes set deep in it that glinted with hate as they looked at us. Who could it have been?"
"Well, my hearty, we'll soon find out. I'm a plain sailor and don't like mystery. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Where did you say the skulker was—outside that port? Then it ought to be easy to find him."
With this, and with Nat close at his heels, he dashed out of the cabin on to the deck.
But to their utter astonishment the schooner looked just as before. No human figure could be seen crouching behind some obstruction and peering at the intruders.
Nor could they find any tracks under the port through which Nat was positive he had seen the formidable face peering.