Page:Last Cruise of the Spitfire.djvu/163

Rh Hannock and Lowell set the ship afire, and they didn't want any one to know it."

"I guess you're right," was Phil's reply. "I overheard Lowell speaking about something of the kind, though I could not quite make it out."

By this time we had reached the stern, where the smoke was not so dense. By the flames that were gradually working their way through the cracks in the deck, where the oakum had burnt away, I knew it would not be long before the entire ship would be enveloped. If anything was to be done it must be done quickly.

"We will have to make a raft," I said. "Get all the ropes you can find near at hand."

The cabin boy willingly complied. Now that he had a companion he did not appear so frightened, and he worked with a will.