Frank did not reply. At length he rose to his feet and took off his coat. Then he turned to Jack. "Give me yours," he said briefly. Jack obeyed without question. Tying the two coats securely together, Frank loosened one of the thwarts in the little boat. He pulled some strong string from his pocket and soon had improvised a little sail. Then tying one sleeve to a cleat on one side and another sleeve to a cleat on the other he soon had his sail bellying before the stiff breeze. "It's pretty low," he said, leaning back and surveying his work, "but it may move us along a little." "How do we know we are going in the right direction?" asked Jack. "We don't; but we might as well be moving as to stay here. We'll let her have her head and keep her steady as she goes." Slowly the little craft, before the freshening wind began to make headway. "This does beat lying still," said Jack. "I don't believe I would have thought of rigging up such a sail as that." "I guess you would if I hadn't," replied Frank. "Now you try and take a little snooze, while I keep a lookout for a vessel of some kind." "All right; only, you wake me up in a couple of hours and I'll stand watch." Frank agreed to this, and Jack rolled over in the bottom of the boat, where, in spite of his wet clothing and the chilling wind, he was soon fast asleep. He was completely exhausted, and any kind of a bed would have felt good to him right then. Frank, holding the rudder of the boat, sat silent, with his eyes scanning the distant horizon for the sign of a ship. But his watch was vain. Not even the smoke of a patrolling vessel did he see in the distance. His two hours of watch up, he shook Jack vigorously. The latter was up in an instant, and soon Frank was occupying his place in the bottom of the boat. For an hour Jack scanned the horizon without making out a ship; then, directly ahead, he saw a cloud of smoke. "Must be a ship!" he muttered to himself, and turned to arouse Frank. Then he drew back, muttering: "No, there is no need to wake him! He's tired out. "Besides, the ship may not sight us, in which case he would be bitterly disappointed." Slowly the cloud of smoke grew larger, until at length Jack was certain that the vessel was bearing down on them. As it drew closer, he saw that the approaching ship was a cruiser; and as it drew still closer, that it was British. Then he bent over and aroused Frank. "Look!" he said, pointing across the water, "what do you think of that?" Frank was wide awake in an instant "A British cruiser," he ejaculated, "and coming right toward us. If she keeps on her course we are sure to be seen." Frank sprang to the little sail and tore it down. Then each lad picked up a coat, and standing at his full height, waved the garment and yelled lustily. For some moments this was unrewarded. Then the boys saw signs of excitement aboard the cruiser, and a big gun boomed--