Availing himself of the permission given to him, he went into the room, and turned in with his clothes on, so that he might be in readiness for any event. Mr. Gilfleur would miss him at the rendezvous agreed upon; but he would have no means of knowing that anything had happened to him. Tired as he was, he was not inclined to sleep. Presently he heard a conversation which was not intended for his ears, for it was carried on in very low tones. "Do you know, Captain Flanger, that I believe we are getting into a very bad scrape?" said Percy Pierson in a subdued tone. "What are you afraid of?" demanded the captain, in a voice hardly above a whisper. "My father refused at first to permit the capture of Passford," added Percy. "He would consent to it only after you had promised to treat him well." "I am treating him as well as I know how, though it goes against my grain. We will get him into the jail in Mobile, and keep him there till the Yankees have acknowledged the independence of the Confederacy, and paid for all the damage they have done to our country. How is any one in Washington or London to know anything about this little affair of to-night?" "I don't know how; but if it should get out, the Yankees would make an awful row, and England would be obliged to do something about it." "But we must make sure that it does not get out. The young cub has a deal of spirit and pluck, and he would not live long if he were shut up on such rations as our men have." Percy seemed to be better satisfied than he had been, and the conversation turned to other subjects in which the listener had no interest. Without much of an effort he turned over and went to sleep. When he woke in the morning he heard the tramp of footsteps on the deck over his head, and he concluded that the steamer was getting under way. If the mate had slept in the berth below him, he had not seen or heard him. He leaped out of the bed, and descended to the floor. When he tried the door he found that it was locked. Presently he heard the movement of the screw, and felt the motion of the vessel. There was a port light to the room, and he placed himself where he could see out at it. But there was nothing to be seen which afforded him any hope of comfort. There must be a pilot on board, and he began to wonder if there could be any way to communicate with him. He took from his pocket a piece of paper and pencil. He wrote a brief statement of the outrage which had been perpetrated upon him, folded the paper, and put it in his vest pocket, where he could readily slip it into the hand of the pilot, if he found the opportunity to do so. The captain had promised to give him his liberty when the vessel got out to sea, and he hoped to be able to go on deck before the pilot left the steamer.