Having first stolen forward and warned the watch that a craft of some sort was within hearing distance of us, and that they were therefore carefully to avoid crying out, or making any other sound that might betray our presence, I returned aft, in the same cautious manner, and was on the point of descending the companion ladder to call the captain, when _ting-ting_ came the soft chiming of a ship's bell, mellowed by distance, from somewhere in the offing, evidencing--or so it seemed to me--the fact that the stranger had not as yet discovered our proximity.
