"Yes, my dear master," said he, "the jailer is in my place in the cell, where I gave him two smart blows, one on the head and the other on the stomach, to act as a sleeping draught, and this when he was bringing me my supper; there is gratitude for you. I took his clothes and his keys, found you, and let you out of the citadel, under the soldiers' noses. That is all I have done."
"But my daughter———?" asked Mr. Halliburtt.
"Is on board the ship which is to take you to England," answered Crockston.
"My daughter there! there!" cried the American, springing from his seat.
"Silence!" replied Crockston, "a few minutes, and we shall be saved."
The boat flew through the darkness, but James Playfair was obliged to steer rather by guess, as the lanterns of the Dolphin were no longer visible through the fog. He was undecided what direction to follow, and the darkness was so great that the rowers could not even see to the end of their oars.
"Well, Mr. James?" said Crockston.
"We must have come almost far enough," replied the captain. "You don't see anything, Crockston?"
"Nothing; and I have good eyes, but we shall get there all right. They don't suspect anything out there."
These words were hardly finished when the flash of a gun gleamed through the darkness, and vanished in the mist.
"A signal!" cried James Playfair.
"Whew!" exclaimed Crockston, "it must have come from the citadel. Let us wait."
A second, then a third shot was fired in the direction of the first, and almost the same signal was repeated a mile in front of the shore-boat.
"That is from Fort Sumter," cried Crockston, "and it is the signal of escape. Urge on the men; everything is discovered."
"Pull for your lives, my men!" cried James Playfair, urging on the sailors, "those gun shots cleared my route. The Dolphin is eight hundred yards ahead of us Stop! I hear the bell on board. Hurrah, there it is again! Twenty pounds for you if we are back in five minutes!"
The boat skimmed over the waves under the sailors'
