"Death and fury! I'll give every man of the night watch a dozen lashes at the triangle in the morning. Zounds! who could have lowered our flag? "Find out, sir!" addressing the chief officer, "or I'll report you as well. Fury! Has some Yankee boarded the _Monarch_, and none know of it?" Captain Scott, of his majesty's sloop-of-war _Monarch_, was the angriest man in those waters that night. CHAPTER XX. THE MONARCH'S DOOM. "He has failed, Scarron." Lieutenant Tempest had repeated that assertion several times during the two hours that Bob was away. "I fear so, and yet I never knew Bob to fail afore." "But he has been gone so long." "I guess he'll have a good showing when he does come. Hello! what's that?" Going to the bulwark, Scarron looked over, and in a low voice uttered the nautical expression: "Ahoy, there!" Back came the answer: "Toss me a rope." "It is Bob!" cried Scarron. "A rope there, quick--the boy's tired." "Where away, sir?" "Nor--nor'west." The rope was thrown, and the direction was right, for almost immediately it was grasped, and the men began to haul it in. A few moments and Bob, the powder-monkey, stood on deck. He was bewildered and faint with his great exertion. Scarron gave him a good stiff glass of grog, and asked for the message sent by the captain of the _Lively Bee_. Bob laughed. "Not likely. It's the cap'n as will get it, not you." "What have you got on?" asked Scarron, for the first time noticing the flag wrapped around the boy's body. Bob grinned, but did not reply. But when Tempest approached, the boy pulled his forelock and began to untie the rope. When he had unwound several yards of it, and unfolded the flag, Tempest asked: "Where did you get it?" Again Bob grinned, and that delayed the answer. "You said you'd like to know how many barkers that there Britisher had got, so I went and counted." "You were on board the man-of-war?" "Certain I was, or else how could I count?" "Tell me all about it." Tempest spoke almost angrily, for he had an idea that Bob had acted treacherously, else how would it have been possible for him to have wandered about the gun deck of a well-ordered war ship? The boy told of his adventures, and described the long stern-chasing gun, and the death of the officer. "It was this way," he said. "I'd got to kill him, or he'd have killed me, and then who'd fight for the Stars?" "But the flag?" "I seen it flying," said Bob, more emphatically than correct, "and, thought I, it's only a rag anyway, and I'll take it to keep me dry. If I'd had a Starry flag, I'd have put it up, but I hadn't, so they have to do without one." The flag was examined and the name _Monarch_ was found on it. The information given by Bob bore out the fact that the sloop was his majesty's ship _Monarch_, carrying eight guns, one of which was a stern-chaser capable of carrying a long distance. "Bob, you are a true hero." "Am I?"