"She is getting into deeper water."
"But the Dauphine is coming right between the Leopard and the Bellevite," continued Christy, as he brought the glass to bear upon her, though she was near enough to be distinctly seen with the naked eye. "Whether she had any guns or not, she has plenty of men on board; and it is easy enough to see what she intends to do."
"What do you think she intends to do?" asked the captain.
"Of course she came out here after the Bellevite, as the Belle did also; but her people have seen what the Leopard has been about for the last hour, and they intend to dispose of us before they hunt for the bigger game."
"She may capture the Bellevite after she has finished her business with us," said the captain, looking very anxious.
"She may, but I don't believe she will. You have proved that you are all right, Captain Pecklar, and I don't mind telling you now that the Bellevite is heavily armed. Captain Breaker was a lieutenant in the navy, and he knows how to handle a ship," replied Christy.
"Then, if we escape the Dauphine, we shall be all right."
"The Dauphine will come down, and throw a few men on board of us; boarding us, in fact, as we have no force with which to help ourselves," added Christy, as he took a small American flag from his pocket.
It had been made by his mother on the late cruise of the steamer, and it was a sort of talisman with him, which he had often displayed in foreign lands. He found a pole on the deck, to which he attached the emblem of his whole country, and displayed it at the bow of the tug. He hoped that his father or the captain might see it, and recognize it as the one he had so often seen on board and ashore.
"That's a handsome flag, Christy; and it does me good to see it again," said Captain Pecklar, as he took off his hat, and bowed reverently to it.