In the excitement of the moment Breeze did not stop to think whether this was a wise thing to do or not; and, only anxious to shield his friend from the consequences of his own folly, he blindly obeyed these instructions. Wolfe stumbled on the deck of the schooner and fell, striking his head against the wheel. When they got him below he seemed stupid, and blood was flowing from a gash on his forehead. [Illustration: “QUICK, NOW! LET’S GET HIM ABOARD THIS SCHOONER.”] Pulling forward a bucket of water, and handing Breeze a rag, Hank said, “You sponge him off, and keep him quiet while I go on deck and see whether the police have followed us down here or not.” Without waiting for an answer, he sprang up the companion-way and pulled the slide over it. Then he went forward, and began to talk in a low tone to the skipper of the schooner, who, with several other men, was on deck. The police had evidently given up the chase some time before, for none were in sight on the wharf. What Hank Hoffer said to the skipper was, “I’ve brought you a couple of first-class hands, and they’re both drunk down in the cabin; but they’ll be all right to-morrow. They were making such a racket in the streets that the police gave us a run for it. I’m afraid they’ll come after us yet; so, as long as we’re all ready, why don’t you cast off, drop out into the stream, and make a start.” Now, this skipper was not much liked by those who knew him, nor was his old schooner a popular boat; so he had found it somewhat difficult to get a crew for the trip she was about to make to the Newfoundland Banks. He had, however, succeeded in shipping all but two of the necessary number, and now that these two had come aboard of their own free-will, he saw no reason why he should not take Hank Hoffer’s advice and make a start. The motion of the schooner was so gentle as she drifted away from the wharf that Breeze, busily bathing his friend’s head, did not notice it. When, however, those on deck began to hoist the sails, he recognized the sound quickly enough, and springing up, tried to push back the companion-way slide. It was locked. Then he began to pound on it furiously, and to shout for somebody to come and unfasten it; but no attention was paid to his outcries. “It’s only those drunken fellows in the cabin,” explained Hank Hoffer to the rest of the crew; “they’ll quiet down directly.” So Breeze McCloud and Wolfe Brady sailed away in the old schooner _Vixen_ for Grand Bank, while in the little cottage on the eastern hill an anxious woman sat and waited for their coming. CHAPTER IX. KIDNAPPED.--THE PROMISE.