80 FOR THE FLAG

which floated on. the surface of the water a few yards
ahead of the schooner.

That object was a small buoy exactly like the one that
had bobbed on the waters of the Neuse when the Edda lay
some cables’ length from the bank near Healthful House.

The buoy was taken up, as well as a cable which was
attached to it, and the boat transported both to the bows
ofthe schooner. _

At the command of the boatswain a tow-line thrown
from the deck was attached to the first cable. Then
Captain Spade and the sailor returned to the deck of the
schooner again, and the boat was hoisted to the davits.

Almost immediately the tow-line tightened and the
Ebba, bare of sail, turned towards the east at a rate which
could not be less than ten miles an hour.

Night closed in, and the lights on the American coast
disappeared quickly in the fog on the horizon.