At first he rowed very gently in the direction of the station, fearing the chance of noise if he made undue haste.  But gradually he increased the strength of his strokes till he had settled down to the regular stride.  When he had covered half the distance he glanced about.  Escape was sure now, for he knew, even if he were discovered, that it would be impossible for the Dazzler to get under way and head him off before he made the land and the protection of that man who wore the uniform of Uncle Sam’s soldiers.

The report of a gun came to him from the shore, but his back was in that direction and he did not bother to turn around.  A second report followed, and a bullet cut the water within a couple of feet of his oar-blade.  This time he did turn around.  The soldier on the beach was leveling his rifle at him for a third shot.

Joe was in a predicament, and a very tantalizing one at that.  A few minutes of hard rowing would bring him to the beach and to safety; but on that beach, for some unaccountable reason, stood a United States soldier who persisted in firing at him.  When Joe saw the gun aimed at him for the third time, he backed water hastily.  As a result, the skiff came to a standstill, and the soldier, lowering his rifle, regarded him intently.

“I want to come ashore!  Important!” Joe shouted out to him.

The man in uniform shook his head.

“But it ’s important, I tell you!  Won’t you let me come ashore?”

He took a hurried look in the direction of the Dazzler.  The shots had evidently awakened French Pete, for the mainsail had been hoisted, and as he looked he saw the anchor broken out and the jib flung to the breeze.

“Can’t land here!” the soldier shouted back.  “Smallpox!”

“But I must!” he cried, choking down a half-sob and preparing to row.

“Then I ’ll shoot you,” was the cheering response, and the rifle came to shoulder again.

Joe thought rapidly.  The island was large.  Perhaps there were no soldiers farther on, and if he only once got ashore he did not care how quickly they captured him.  He might catch the smallpox, but even that was better than going back to the bay pirates.  He whirled the skiff half about to the right, and threw all his strength against the oars.  The cove was quite wide, and the nearest point which he must go around a good distance away.  Had he been more of a sailor, he would have gone in the other direction for the opposite point, and thus had the wind on his pursuers.  As it was, the Dazzler had a beam wind in which to overtake him.

It was nip and tuck for a while.  The breeze was light and not very steady, so sometimes he gained and sometimes they.  Once it freshened till the sloop was within a hundred yards of him, and then it dropped suddenly flat, the Dazzler’s big mainsail flapping idly from side to side.

“Ah! you steal ze skiff, eh?” French Pete howled at him, running into the cabin for his rifle.  “I fix you!  You come back queeck, or I kill you!” But he knew the soldier was watching them from the shore, and did not dare to fire, even over the lad’s head.