"That will do; stop her and anchor, Mr. Flint," said Christy, as he
looked about him in an endeavor to penetrate the fog in which the vessel
was buried.
Then he listened for any sounds that might come to him from the
direction of the shore; but all was as still as the tomb itself. The
screw stopped in obedience to the order of the executive officer, who
went down to the deck to supervise the anchoring of the steamer, as he
had no inferior officer to attend to this duty.
"Mr. Flint, drop a drift lead, and station a hand to observe it," said
Christy, hailing the first lieutenant.
"A drift lead, sir," replied Mr. Flint.
This was a lead weighing twenty pounds, which is dropped on the bottom
by men-of-war to determine if the anchor holds, or if the vessel is
drifting.
"Station a strong lookout, Mr. Flint, and send a man aloft on the
foremast and another on the mainmast," continued Christy when the other
orders had been obeyed.
This completed the preparation for the night. The captain consulted his
repeater, and ascertained that it was twenty minutes past twelve. The
Bronx was in position to learn the fact if any vessel attempted to run
out of St. Andrew's Bay, provided his calculations in regard to the
locality of the Bronx were correct.
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