94 FOR THE FLAG

midnight. Unfortunately, my watch is useless to me in
the midst of such darkness.

Now if we have been sailing for five hours the ship must
have got beyond Pamlico Sound, whether it had come
out by Ocracoke Inlet or by Hatteras Inlet. I conclude we
are out at sea, a good mile at least from the coast, and
yet I do not feel the ocean swell. This is incom-
prehensible. Let me see—can I be mistaken? Am I
under a delusion? Am I not shut up in the depths of
the hold of a ship in motion?

Another hour passes, and suddenly the tremor of the
machinery ceases. I am aware that the vessel has ceased
to move. Has it reached its destination? In that case it
can only be in one of the ports of the coast north or south
of Pamlico Sound. But whyshould Thomas Roch, being
taken forcibly away from Healthful House, be brought
back to land? The abduction must have become known
outside, and its authors’ delay would expose themselves to
the danger of discovery by the authorities of the Union.

And then, if the vessel is actually at anchor, I shall
presently hear the noise of the chain through the hawse-
hole, and when she swings to her anchor there will be a
shock—a shock which I wait for and shall feel. It must
come in a few minutes.

I wait! I listen !

Nothing; a dismal and alarming silence reigned on
board. I ask myself,am I the only living being in this
vessel ?

A kind of stupor comes over me; the atmosphere is