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Rh While meditating I heard footsteps on the companionway. It was Captain Hannock descending, and I had hardly time to slip behind a curtain that led to one of the staterooms when he entered.

"Confound the boy, I wonder what has become of him?" I heard him mutter. "Foster!" he called out.

I made no sound. The captain stood still for a moment.

"Lowell must have been mistaken. The young cub would never dare to come down here on his own hook."

And with this comment and a final glance around, Captain Hannock left the cabin and mounted to the deck.

I breathed more freely when he was gone. I had had a narrow escape. Had he looked in the stateroom I would have surely been discovered.

I continued my search with difficulty. The stateroom was comparatively dark, and my ears were strained to their utmost to catch the first sound of any one approaching.

The room was that belonging to the captain. Under the berth was a locker, tightly fastened. I was certain that the locker contained what I was seeking for, because it was the one likely place that