पृष्ठ 334 / 416

Burns caught the fleet of a Thursday morning, just as they had

dropped anchors after making a night berth, and the dories were

out sampling the ground and the fish. It was just three days

after Code had arrived aboard the Charming Lass again.

As Nat worked his way in and out among the vessels, throwing

their mail aboard attached to pieces of coal, he kept an eye out

for the Rosan. One very important piece of business that had

brought him North was a reconciliation with Nellie Tanner, and he

meant, while his men were out in the dories, to accomplish this

first.

At last he sighted her near the very front line of the fleet. The

Charming Lass he could not see, for Code had taken a different

direction from the Rosan, and was one of the score of sails

scattered around the horizon. But Nat was in no great hurry to

get him on the minute; if the mystery schooner were attended to,

then it would be merely a matter of time until the capture of

Code.