It seemed an age to him, as to those who waited breathlessly
behind, ere he reached the great pile of dry branches
and underbrush.
As he broke from the dense wood and came in sight of the
vessels again, he was filled with consternation to see that the
Arrow was making sail and that the cruiser was already
under way.
Quickly lighting the pyre in a dozen places, he hurried to
the extreme point of the promontory, where he stripped off
his shirt, and, tying it to a fallen branch, stood waving it back
and forth above him.
But still the vessels continued to stand out; and he had
given up all hope, when the great column of smoke, rising
above the forest in one dense vertical shaft, attracted the
attention of a lookout aboard the cruiser, and instantly a
dozen glasses were leveled on the beach.
Presently Clayton saw the two ships come about again; and
while the Arrow lay drifting quietly on the ocean, the
cruiser steamed slowly back toward shore.
At some distance away she stopped, and a boat was lowered
and dispatched toward the beach.
As it was drawn up a young officer stepped out.
"Monsieur Clayton, I presume?" he asked.
"Thank God, you have come!" was Clayton's reply. "And
it may be that it is not too late even now."
"What do you mean, Monsieur?" asked the officer.
Clayton told of the abduction of Jane Porter and the need
of armed men to aid in the search for her.
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