Few words were spoken, and all in guarded undertones.

The rippling of the water against the prows and cables was an annoyance, and on more than one forehead great drops of cold perspiration gathered.
Slowly and painfully the long minutes wore away, until it seemed as if several hours had passed, when in reality the interval was but a small part of that period.

Every nerve was in this tense state, when suddenly the boom of a cannon came rolling through the fog from the direction of the city, followed soon by the rapid firing of artillery.

The approach of the _Intrepid_ had been discovered, and it seemed as if all the enemy's batteries were blazing away at her.

But what of the ketch itself?
Stewart, like all the rest, was peering into the black mist, when he saw a star-like point of light, moving with an up and down motion, in a horizontal line, showing that it was a lantern carried by a man running along the deck of a ship.