"That's where I don't agree with you, lad. The son of a sea-cook can't give the Britishers any very valuable information, whereas we can tell the commodore that which may be the means of savin' our whole fleet. I'd like to lay Macomber by the heels as well as you would; but I don't believe in usin' a salmon to catch a sprat. We'll run across him some day; but jest now its our duty to get up the river in short order. We'll try the canoe with a little bigger canvas, an' if she sails faster than the pungy you shall go ahead, for an hour now is worth a full day next week." I was not convinced that the business of catching the traitor before he could give his information to the Britishers, was less important than that of carrying to the commodore word of preparation for departure on the part of the fleet, more particularly since not a vessel had as yet hove in sight; but when it came to arguing a point with Darius I generally got the worst of it, therefore I held my peace, although it went sadly against the grain to do so. Jerry did not give in so readily; but insisted on heaving to the vessel, declaring that he and I would do the work alone, while the Avenger went on up the river. "You'll do nothin' of the kind, lad," Darius said emphatically. "There's no tellin' what Joshua Barney will decide on when he hears the word I have for him, an' I don't count to leave you down here at Hog Point to be gobbled up by the Britishers, for you're already under suspicion of havin' had a hand in Bill Jepson's desertion." "What do you mean?" I asked in surprise. "Jest what I said. The officer from the Severn declared that you two lads could tell what had become of Bill." "I had actually forgotten that we aided a deserter," I cried. "Tell us what happened after we left the Avenger?" "Well," Darius said slowly, stopping to twist off a huge piece of tobacco, and otherwise trying to make his yarn a long one so that we might round Hog Point in the meanwhile. "We run over to the Delaware shore, as I counted on doin', tryin' to find a boat; but it was no go. We didn't see anythin' that would float, an' of course we couldn't fool 'round there very long after sunrise, else the Britishers would see us, so I made up my mind that the best plan was to face the music right soon.