It was chilly and dark, and the old cabin with its
sagging roof and open doorway was not a very inviting shelter. Indeed,
Estralla was quite sure that a lion, or at the very least a family of
wolves, was at that moment safely hidden in one of the dark corners of
the cabin.
"The moon is out! Look!" said Sylvia, "and there goes a steamer."
Sylvia did not know that this steamer was a guard-boat which Governor
Pickens of South Carolina had ordered stationed between Sullivan's
Island and Fort Sumter to prevent, if possible, any United States troops
being landed at that fort.
"I can see the fort!" declared Sylvia. "That's it off beyond the boat,"
and she pointed down the harbor. "Now, we will start. I know I can row
the boat that far, and I am sure my father will not go home without us.
To-morrow we will send this boat back."
Sylvia had now forgotten all her weariness, and she was no longer
afraid. She was sure that in a little while she would be safely at the
fort, and then, she resolved, she would at once tell Mrs. Carleton that
Mr. Doane had the letter and ask permission to tell her mother of her
part in the secret message.
The boat was already half afloat, and it was an easy matter to pull up
the big stone attached to a strong rope which served as an anchor, and
then to push off from shore.
"You watch, Estralla, and if any other boat comes near shout at the top
of your voice," said Sylvia as she dipped the oars into the dark water
and pulled off from shore.
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