The two lads looked about curiously.  The bay was black with the little craft.

“Great Scott!  There are more than two hundred here, if you ask me,” declared Frank.

“Looks that way to me, too,” agreed Jack.

They mentioned the matter to Lord Hastings.

“Captain Smithers just told me,” replied Lord Hastings, “that at this moment there are in the neighborhood of a thousand of these little craft here.  However, the bulk of them probably will be sent to other stations before long.”

“You mean distributed up and down the coast?” asked Frank.

“Exactly.”

“And when are we going to get busy, sir?” asked Jack.

Again Lord Hastings smiled.

“To-night,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation, “I think I can promise you a little excitement to-night.  Captain Smithers has a tip that he intends to follow, and we have been selected for the job.”

CHAPTER VII.

An enemy.

The Hawk crept over the still black waters as silently as the night itself.  Not a light showed aboard the little craft—­not a human voice was heard.  Now and then the faint exhaust of the engine could have been heard by a keen ear, but the engine was muffled and whatever sound it might make carried but a few yards at most.

The Hawk, with Lord Hastings, Jack and Frank and the other few members of the crew, was stalking the foe—­no particular foe, perhaps—­but any enemy that might be foolhardy enough to show itself.

Aboard, each member of the crew, besides his revolvers, was equipped with a small hand flashlight; and the larger searchlight in the bow was ready for instant use—­to flash in the eyes of an enemy to blind him and to spoil his aim.

And the two heavy guns—­one forward, the other aft—­were ready for action.

The men stood at their posts—­had stood there now for two hours—­ever since The Hawk had crept silently from the friendly shelter of Bantry Bay.  The crew had been ordered to silence and the crew of The Hawk, commanded by Lord Hastings, obeyed orders.

So far The Hawk had come upon nothing that had justified its lonesome and silent vigil—­not an object of any kind had been encountered, and the hour was now after midnight.  Still, keen eyes aboard the little craft peered untiringly ahead and swept the waters in all directions, trying to pierce the darkness of the night.

The night, though dark, was perfectly calm and peaceful, albeit black, overhanging clouds heralded the approach of a storm.  But Lord Hastings, than whom there were few better weather prophets, announced that the storm would not break before well along toward morning and held to his quest without trepidation.

Frank and Jack were now becoming somewhat restless, for they had begun to fear that the night’s venture would not bear fruit.  However, each remembered what Lord Hastings had said regarding a “tip,” so they knew that their commander had some object in view.  Also, since leaving port, The Hawk had held steadily to her course.