"And now, what is the next act in this midnight melodrama, most cautious youth ?" "The keeping of a still tongue until we are both overboard," I replied somewhat roughly.

"Follow me closely, and keep quiet about it, if you retain the slightest care for your life." It was not much of a trick, the rest of it, and within five minutes we were silently floating down the great river, through the darkness, seeking after some quiet landing-place below the fleet..