"All right: there is room enough in this bay for both of us," added Louis, as he glanced in the direction of the outlet of the stream.
"I can see the lights in the houses on the shore of the river," continued Morris.
The moonlight did not produce a very brilliant illumination of Gibraltar Bay, though it was light enough to enable the voyagers on its waters to see all prominent objects on the shores, and to make out the shape of the points projecting from them. There was not a sail in sight in this part of the bay, though the masts of the small craft in the creek could be plainly distinguished. Both of them were schooners, and they were evidently larger than most of the feluccas seen on the Mediterranean.
The boat that was approaching contained five men, two of whom were at the oars. They were pulling out in a direction to intercept the Salihé. Louis examined the boat and the men as well as he could, and though he had been utterly unable to imagine any possible danger in connection with the moonlight excursion, he made up his mind that he, for one, did not care to encounter a group of five men in just this lonely and silent locality.
Scott had strictly observed his instructions to keep within about a quarter of a mile of the shore, and the steam-yacht was now at this distance from the land. The rowers in the boat did not seem to be hurrying themselves at the oars, and Louis concluded that it would be a very easy matter for the Salihé to run away from the strangers when it seemed necessary to do so.
The steamer continued on her course, and no one expressed any alarm. Suddenly the Salihé stopped short, her keel grinding in the sand or mud.
CHAPTER V
AT THE MOUTH OF THE PALMONES RIVER
Scott had certainly done exceedingly well in his study of the chart, which Louis had obtained for him, and he remembered much more than might have been expected of him; but he had failed to mention several towers on the shore, which could hardly be seen at night. There was one of them about a quarter of a mile inshore from the mouth of the river. At two cables' length from the shore the water was ten fathoms deep; but at the mouth of the Palmones there is a bar, and the bottom in the vicinity was mud.
The pilot had obeyed his orders, and he was not to be blamed, though the steamer was now aground. As soon as the grating of the keel was heard, and the boat came to a full stop, Scott rang the bell to stop her, and then to back her. But she had run on the bar when going at full speed, and she did not come off so easily as desired.