"WAKE up, old man!" exclaimed Jack, darting into the cabin and shaking his comrade.
"What's up?" asked Harry, awake in a moment.
"There's something up on board the powder hulk. They're firing."
Harry deliberately struck a match, lit the cabin lamp, then looked his chum squarely in the face. But Jack, blinking in the light, seemed too genuinely excited to play a practical joke; besides, his streaming oilskins showed that he had been outside for some considerable time.
"What do you think is the matter?"
"Goodness knows; but—rather a strange thing—a boat passed us some time ago."
"Why strange?"
"She was rowing with muffled oars."
"Oh! We may as well go and have a look at the hulk. Are you game?"
"Yes," replied Jack simply. His sense of uneasiness had now entirely left him, and beyond a tingling sensation in his throat he felt fairly calm and collected.