It was in charge of a lieutenant, and Clif Faraday, in recognition of his being the first to volunteer, was placed beside him in the stern to steer the boat through the rough waters.
It was still dark, though the eastern sky gave promise of the near approach of day. The time had been selected to enable the boat to near the shore without great danger of detection in the dim light. But by the time they should succeed in grappling the cable there would be sufficient light to enable them to complete their task.
"All seems quiet on shore," said Clif, after a time, to the lieutenant, as they both peered forward at the coast line now looming up before them. "The Spaniards don't seem to be looking for us."
"True," responded the lieutenant. "It looks that way. But you can't sometimes always tell. They may have a surprise for us."
"If they don't shoot any straighter than they have been doing," said Clif with a laugh, "they'll never touch us."
"That's true, too," assented the lieutenant. "But still you must remember——"
"The Maine!" interrupted Clif.
"Yes, remember the Maine! But, as I was saying, these fellows might possibly aim at something else beside our boat and hit us accidentally. At any rate, I hope they don't see us. We are not out to capture a fort armed as we are with nothing but revolvers, and in this open boat we would be an easy prey to decent marksmanship."
"Still, the boys like action," said Clif.
"We may have plenty of it yet," replied the lieutenant, with a suspicion of uneasiness in his tone.