During the brief struggle for the possession of the schooner, she had drifted some distance, which had caused the new commander to lose his bearings. The shore they had just left had disappeared, as though it had been swallowed up by an earthquake. No lights were allowed on shore, where they could be seen from the river, for they afforded so many targets to the artillerymen in the rebel batteries. The more Tom tried to discover a familiar object to steer by, the more it seemed as though the land and everything else had been cut adrift, and emigrated to foreign parts. Those who have been in a boat in a very dark night, or in a dense fog, will be able to appreciate the bewilderment of the skipper of the captured schooner. "Look out, Tom, that you don't run us into some of those rebel batteries," said Hapgood, after he had watched the rapid progress of the boat for a few moments. "A shot from a thirty-two pounder would be a pill we couldn't swallow." "No danger of that, Hapgood," answered Tom, confidently. "I don't know about that, my boy," answered the veteran, in a tone heavy with dire anxiety. "I know it. The schooner was running with the wind on her starboard quarter when we boarded her. We are now close-hauled, and of course we can't make the shore on the other side while we are on this tack." Well, I don't know much about it, Tom, but if you say its all right, I'm satisfied; that' all. I'd trust you just as far as I would General McClennon, and you know we all b'lieve in him." "What are you going to do with us?" asked one of the rebels, who began to exhibit some interest in the fate of the schooner. "I suppose you will find good quarters in Fort McHenry," replied Tom. "Where do you belong?" "In Baltimore." "What are you doing here, then?" "We go in for the South." "Go in, then!" added Tom, laughing. "You'll fetch up where all the rest of 'em do," said Hapgood. "How's that fellow that was hit?" asked Tom, pointing to the rebel who lay in the middle of the standing room. "I guess it's all right with him," replied Hapgood, bending over the silent form. "No; he isn't dead." "I have it!" shouted Tom, suddenly crowding the helm hard-a-lee. "What, Tom?" "I see where we are. We are running up the river. I see the land on the weather bow." The schooner was put about, and after running with the wind amidships for ten or fifteen minutes, Tom discovered the outline of Mrs. Budd's house, which was directly under the guns of the Union battery. "Stand by the fore halliards, Hapgood," said Tom, as the boat came about again. "Let go!" The foresail came down, and Tom sprang upon the pier, as the schooner came up under its lee. In a moment the boat was made fast. By this time the pickets appeared. "Who comes there?" demanded the soldier. "Friends!" replied Tom. "Advance, friend, and give the countersign." "Little Mac," whispered the soldier boy in the ear of the sentinel. "Who are you?" "Co. K." answered Tom.