"
"Well, where are we going, Captain, if it is no longer a secret?" asked
the engineer.
"It is not a secret now; and we are to cruise off the mouth of the
Cape Fear River," replied the commander, as he proceeded to give the
information more in detail.
"We are not likely to have any hot work then if we are only to chase
blockade-runners," added Paul.
"Probably we can render greater service to our country in this manner
than in any other way, or we should not have been sent to this quarter,"
said Christy, with a long gape.
Paul saw that his friend was sleepy, and he bade him good-night. The
commander went to his stateroom, and was soon fast asleep, from which he
did not wake till eight o' clock in the morning. When he went on deck
the ship was carrying all sail. The second lieutenant had the deck, and
he asked him what speed the steamer was making.
"The last log showed seventeen knots an hour," replied Mr. Makepeace.
"I hope you slept well, Captain Passford," said the chief engineer,
saluting him at this minute.
"I slept like a log till eight bells this morning," replied Christy.
"Mr. Makepeace reports the last log at seventeen knots," continued Paul.
"But the ship is not making revolutions enough per hour for more than
fifteen, for I have got the hang of her running now. The wind is blowing
half a gale, and the canvas is giving her two knots.
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