A Silver Brand — page 262: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ol 54° A SILVER BRAND, think has become of us? We shall have no hope of rescue —none at all.” | “T have prepared my last forlorn hope,” answered Serena. ‘‘I have managed to write a letter and seal it in a bottle. I mean to throw it into the water when they move us. For the rest there is only for us patience and prayerful trust that Heaven will watch and save us.” This new distress of the fair prisoners arose from the sudden appearance of the expected schooner- Jack had discovered it just before sunset, but he concealed his secret eagerness and excitement from the others, and managed to answer the rocket signal which came just after the evening fell, without attracting their notice. An hour after his signal there came another, which Jack and Mike, who were-wakeful and alert, instead of being sound asleep as the prisoners believed them, answered by showing three lights at the upper window. Then the two men, carefully locking the doors behind ‘them, stole down through the cellar-way, and out to the cave, hurrying off with the boat that was hidden there, and rowing briskly, when once clear of the surf, off toward the open sea. Before they had proceeded far they met another boat, whose lantern attracted them. ‘Ahoy there!” shouted the skipper of the latter. ‘Ahoy !” responded Jack, cautiously. ““Who are you, and where from ?” “Voyager from the Devil’s Cave,” was Jack’s answer. “All right !” responded a rough voice, in a tone of satis- faction. “Is it you, Jack?” “Ay, ay, sir! What luck?” “Tall luck, old fellow! -A rare cargo—all safe ashore, of course, and the way clear.” “All right. I’ll come in your boat, and let one of your hands come with Mike, if you don’t mind.” And so the two boats were brought together, and the exchange made. “It will be a good night’s work to get the things in, Jack,” said the man in the tarpaulin hat and oiled coat: “but we must work right smart, and the sea is so smooth it won’t be very bad at the cave, will it?” “It is pretty fair. When did you run into the bay? You’re home before your time. I didn’t look sharp for you for a week yet.” ‘Well, we had good luck, I tell you. I might have got in this morning, but I thought I saw that confounded revenue cutter hauling out, so I lay off till dark would Eomichbooks.con