The night was nearly spent and dawn was at hand when the weary occupants of one of these patrol-boats were aroused into activity by two bright lights that flashed in quick succession for an instant well over on the western side of their channel, which was the one known as Colvos Passage.
"It is a signal," said the officer, as he headed his boat in that direction. "Silence, men! Have your oars ready for a chase."
Shortly afterwards another light appeared on the water in the same general direction, but farther down the channel. It showed steadily for a minute, and was then lost to view, only to reappear a few moments later. After that its continued appearance and disappearance proved most puzzling, until the officer solved the problem to his own satisfaction by saying:
"The careless rascals have come to anchor, and are sending their stuff ashore in a small boat. That light is the lantern they are working by; but I wouldn't have believed even they could be so reckless as to use it. Douse that sail and unship the mast. So. Now, out oars! Give 'way!"
As the boat sprang forward under this new impulse, its oars, being muffled in the row-locks, gave forth no sound save the rhythmic swish with which they left the water at the end of each stroke.
The row was not a long one, and within five minutes the boat was close to the mysterious light. No sound came from its vicinity, nor was there any loom of masts or sails through the blackness. Were they close to it, after all? Might it not be brighter than they thought, and still at a distance from them? Its nature was such that the officer could not determine even by standing up, and for a few moments he was greatly puzzled. He could now see that the land was at a greater distance than a smuggler would choose to cover with his small boats when he might just as well run his craft much closer. What could it mean?
Suddenly he gave the orders: "'Way enough! In oars! Look sharp there for'ard with your boat-hook!"
The next moment the twinkling light was alongside, and its mystery was explained. It was an old lantern lashed to a bit of a board that was in turn fastened across an empty half-barrel. A screen formed of a shingle darkened one side of the lantern, so that, as the floating tub was turned by wind or wave, the light alternately showed and disappeared at irregular intervals.