them parted from her cables and drove towards the shore.

"We must beat a rapid retreat if we wish to save our lives," he
continued; "the tempest is down upon us!"

The wind, which had previously blown from the south-east, suddenly
shifted to the southward.

Grasping my arm, he hurried me off from the spot on which we were
standing.  At the same time down came a deluge of rain--not in mere
drops, but in regular sheets of water.  It wetted us to the skin in a
few moments.  Larry, now seizing my other arm, dragged me forward.  As
we looked back for a moment, we observed the sea rising in a mountain
billow, hissing and foaming, and approaching the shore.  It was but the
first, however, of others still larger which were to follow.  It broke
with a thundering roar,--the water rushed on, flowing by the spot we had
already reached; but even though we were nearly up to our knees, I
couldn't resist taking another glance behind.  The whole ocean was
covered with wreck; and one of the larger vessels I had seen just
before, had disappeared beneath the surface.

As we hurried on, crash succeeded crash.  First one house fell, then
another, and another, and from some bright flames burst forth, which
even the descending rain failed to quench.  It was useless to attempt
saving the lives of our fellow-creatures, for the same destruction would
have overtaken us.  Our great object was to reach the higher country in
the direction of the barracks.  Had Larry and I been alone, we should in
all probability have lost our lives; but Mr Ringer, knowing the town,
led us quickly through it by the shortest route.  As we dashed through
the streets, scarcely looking to the right hand or to the left, piercing
cries of agony and despair struck on our ears.  The smaller and more
lightly built houses were levelled in a moment, and many even of the
larger were crumbling away.

"Don't you wish to go to your own house? if so, we must not stop you; we
will go with you," I said to Mr Ringer.

"We should only be crushed by the falling ruins if we made the attempt,"
he answered at the top of his voice, and even then I could scarcely hear
what he said.  "I'll try and get to it from the rear when I have seen
you out of the town."

Not far off from where we then were was a fine house, that had hitherto
withstood the hurricane.  Presently a blast struck us which, had we not
clung together, would have blown us down.  At the same time, looking up,
I saw the house literally rocking.  Down came one wall, and then
another, the roof fell in, and in one instant it was a heap of shapeless
ruins.

"I trust the inmates have escaped," cried Mr Ringer.

Just then loud shrieks and cries for help struck on our ears.  They
came, it seemed, from beneath the ruins.  We could not withstand the
appeal for assistance, and calculating as well as we could in what
direction the still standing walls would fall, we sprang forward, taking
a course to avoid them across the mass of ruins.  An arch, which had
apparently formed the centre of a passage, was yet uninjured, though
blocked up.  The cries seemed to us to come from thence.  We should
find, we knew, great difficulty in removing the _debris_ which
encumbered it, and the walls might at any moment fall down and crush us.
Still Larry and I, having climbed to the top of the heap, began pulling
away the beams and planks and rubbish which stopped up the entrance.
Mr Ringer joined us, though evidently considering our occupation a very
dangerous one.  However, we persevered, and at length had made an
opening sufficiently large to look in.  We could see two ladies, an old
gentleman, and a mulatto servant.

"We have come to help you," I cried out.  "If you'll climb up here
you'll be free, and there may yet be time, Mr Ringer thinks, to reach
the open country."

Mr Ringer joining us, the two gentlemen recognised each other.

"What, Martin!  Glad to see you safe," said the former.  "Come, get out
of that place as fast as possible."

Encouraged by us, the youngest of the ladies first made the attempt, and
succeeded in getting high enough to reach our hands.  The old lady
followed, though unless Mr Martin and the mulatto girl had shoved
behind, we should have found it impossible to have got her through.  Mr
Martin and the girl followed.

As may be supposed, we didn't stop longer on the ruins than was
necessary, but scrambling over them, again reached the open street.
Scarcely were we there before down came the remaining wall, with a crash
which broke in the arch.  It would certainly have destroyed Mr Martin
and his family had they been there.  The event showed us clearly the
importance of getting out of the town.  It seemed scarcely possible that
any one passing through the narrow streets could escape being killed.
Even in the broader ones the danger of being crushed was fearful.  Mr
Ringer assisted Mrs Martin, I offered my aid to the young lady, and
Larry took charge of the old gentleman, who required helping as much as
his wife and daughter.  I had forgotten all about my lameness.  We of
course were somewhat delayed in our progress.  Now we had to scramble
over fallen walls--now we narrowly escaped being killed by masses of
masonry and timber falling around us.

At length the open was reached, and we made our way to some higher
ground overlooking the bay.  We had reason to be thankful that we were
out of the town.  Providentially we reached a small stone building,
which afforded us some shelter from the driving rain and furious wind,
against which it was impossible to stand alone.  The bay, as we looked
down upon it, presented a fearful scene.  The whole shore was strewn
with masses of wreck.  Not a small craft had escaped, and the largest,
with all anchors down, were tossing about, and seemed every moment
likely to be engulfed.  The town itself was a heap of ruins, scarcely a
house was standing, and none had escaped injury.  In some places flames
were raging, which would have set fire to other houses had it not been
for the mass of water descending on them, while even amid the uproar of
the elements we could hear the shrieks and cries of the inhabitants who
still survived.  Presently another immense wave rolled into sight, out
of the dense mist which now shrouded the ocean.  On it came with a
tremendous roar.  The first vessel it reached was in a moment buried
beneath it.  We thought the others would share the same fate, but the
cables parted, and they were borne on the summit of the wave high up
above the beach.  On, on it came.  Mr Ringer shouted out to us to
escape; and he had reason to do so, for it seemed as if the wave would
overwhelm the spot where we stood.  Though the water swept up a portion
of the height, the wave broke before it reached it, leaving the
_Princess Royal_ high and dry on the shore, while it receded, roaring
and hissing, carrying off everything in its course.  The crew of the
stranded ship had good cause to be thankful for their escape.  On again
looking towards the town, we saw that the sea had swept away many of the
houses in the lower part, while the water rushed through the streets,
extinguishing some of the fires, and must have overwhelmed all caught in
its embrace.  Mr Ringer proposed that we should make our way to the
barracks, but the ladies were unwilling to encounter the storm, and
begged to remain where they were.  Evening was now approaching, but the
hurricane gave no signs of abating.  In whatever direction we looked we
could see its dire effects.  Not a shrub, not a cane, remained standing.
Every tree had been blown down.  It seemed as if a vast scythe had
passed over the land.  The uproar continued as loud as before.

"This is a mighty curious country," shouted Larry to me.  "It beats a
faction fight in Tipperary hollow.  I was after thinking it was the most
peaceable disposed part of the world, seeing how quiet it has been since
we came out here.  Hullo! what's that?"

There was a loud rumbling sound.  The earth shook beneath our feet.

"It's an earthquake," cried Mr Ringer.  "Heaven forbid that it should
increase."

The ladies clung to Mr Martin with looks of terror.  Again there came
that fearful shaking of the earth; many of the remaining buildings
toppled over.  Flashes of lightning, brighter than I had ever before
beheld, darted from the sky and lighted up the sea.  Even the night
scarcely added to the horrors of those moments, as far as we were
concerned, though it must have done so to the miserable people still
within the precincts of the town.  At one time the water seemed to
recede altogether out of the bay, but presently, as if gathered up in a
heap, it once more rolled over the land.

Hour after hour went by, till about midnight, almost as suddenly as it
had commenced, the hurricane passed away from us on its devastating
course; and in a short time, excepting the roar of the surf upon the
shore, scarcely a sound was heard.  On this we set out for the barracks,
hoping that they had withstood the tempest.  Although they had suffered
considerably, the larger portion had escaped.

Mr Martin and his wife and daughter warmly expressed their gratitude to
us for having rescued them from their perilous position, saying that
they must have perished had we not come to their assistance.

"I wish that I had a home to which to invite you, said Mr Martin, with
a melancholy smile; but I trust that my house may ere long be rebuilt,
and that I may have the means of showing my gratitude better than I can
now."

"I shall be very happy to stay with you if I have the chance," I
answered; "but I suspect it will be a long time before I again get
leave."

The officers, as might have been expected, received us in the kindest
way possible.  Duffy was delighted to see us.  He fancied I might have
gone on board, and sailed before the hurricane came on.

Next morning the commanding officer marched the whole of the men down,
to render such assistance as they could to the survivors among the
suffering inhabitants.  I have never since witnessed a more fearful
scene of destruction than the town presented.  Numbers were lying about
in the streets, where they had been crushed to death by the falling
masses, many among them being the principal people in the place.  In all
directions the survivors were rushing about in quest of relatives or
friends; while the larger number of the dead lay concealed beneath the
ruins.

The appearance of the _Princess Royal_ was extraordinary.  We had seen
her cast on shore and left on her beam-ends.  At present she was
perfectly upright, the ground beneath her keel, during the earthquake,
having given way: and there she lay, securely embedded, without the
possibility of ever being set afloat again, about a quarter of a mile
from the beach.  Two other vessels had been driven higher on shore, but
lay on their beam-ends.  It was at once proposed to utilise the vessel,
by making her the home of the houseless inhabitants; and forthwith the
women and children, and men unable to labour, were collected on board
her.  As I surveyed the effects of the hurricane, I naturally felt very
anxious about my ship, fearing that she might have been at sea, and been
lost.  I afterwards learned that it was only the eastern wing of the
hurricane that had swept by the western end of Jamaica, but that its
influence in a less degree had been felt over the whole island.  As soon
as the news reached Kingston, vessels were despatched with provisions,
and such relief as could be afforded, for the sufferers.  As I was
anxious to get back, I took my passage with Larry on board the _Rose_
schooner.  The captain promised to land us at Port Royal in a couple of
days; "always providing that we are not snapped up by the enemy, or that
another hurricane doesn't come on," he observed.

As we sailed out of the harbour, I could see at one glance, more clearly
than before, the destruction worked by the hurricane and earthquake.
The whole town appeared to be reduced to heaps of ruins, with here and
there a few shattered walls standing up in their midst.  The skipper of
the _Rose_ could give me no information about the _Liffy_, There were a
considerable number of men-of-war in the harbour, and he had not taken
especial note of any of them.

"If she was at sea during the hurricane, it is a hundred to one that she
escaped," he observed.

We made all sail, and kept in shore as much as we could, lest the
enemy's privateers might spy us out, and carry us off to Saint Domingo,
or elsewhere.  We, however, escaped all dangers; and, to my great joy,
on entering Port Royal I made out the _Liffy_ among the other men-of-war
at anchor.  The _Rose's_ boat took me alongside.  Mr Saunders was on
deck, so I went up to him.

"Come aboard, sir," I said, touching my hat.

"What, my lad! is it you?" he exclaimed.  "I'm glad to see you.  There
was a report that you had perished during the hurricane at Savannah.
How is your leg?  Able to return to your duty, I hope?"

"As able and willing as ever, sir," I answered.

"That's all right; there'll be work for us all, ere long."

As I entered the berth there was a regular shout, "Hurrah, Paddy Finn!"

"Glad to have you back, youngster," cried Nettleship.

Tom Pim grasped my hand, and seemed unwilling to let it go, though he
didn't say as much as many of the others.  I had to answer whole volleys
of questions from my messmates, who were all eager to know what had
happened to me.  I described our narrow escape from the town, and
modestly touched on the part I had taken in rescuing Mr Martin and his
wife and daughter.

"Glad to see you uphold the honour of the cloth," said Nettleship; "we
should never see anybody in danger, and not try to help them at the risk
of our lives."

I was amply repaid by the praises my messmates bestowed upon me, for
they knew that I had only told them the truth without exaggeration.  I
asked what they expected we should do next.

"Look out for the French and Spanish fleets, which have long been
threatening to pay the island a visit, and take possession of it, if
they can," answered Nettleship.  "Why they have not come before now I
don't know; but there's some reason for it, I suppose."

The sound of music, and the stamp of feet, as I went forward in the
evening, showed me that Larry's fiddle had been taken care of; and there
he was, scraping away in high glee, setting his messmates dancing
merrily to his music, they not troubling their heads about the fierce
work which was in store for them.  He had received, he afterwards told
me, a hearty welcome from all hands, who were delighted to get him back
among them.

The next morning Nettleship went on shore.  We were most of us in the
berth when he returned.

"I have grand news, boys; not so much for us, though, as for the people
of Jamaica.  The governor has received information that the Spanish and
French fleets were caught in the late hurricane, as they were cruising
off Cape Francois.  Two Spanish ships foundered, two more were driven no
one knows where, and four were dismasted.  Two Frenchmen were dismasted,
one went to the bottom, and another was driven on shore, while the rest,
considerably battered, had to bear away to Havanna."

"How do you know that it's all true?" asked several of the mess.

"I heard it from the captain himself, and, what's more, we're to sail
forthwith to carry the information to Sir Samuel Hood, who is supposed
to be at Barbadoes.  He sent me on to direct Mr Saunders to get the
ship ready for sea, so that we may sail the moment he comes on board."

The boatswain's call, summoning all hands on deck, prevented us from
asking any further questions.  It not being known at what moment the
ship might be sent to sea, she was kept well provided with water and
fresh provisions, so that we had nothing to wait for from the shore,
except a few of the officers, who had gone to Port Royal.

Blue Peter was hoisted and a gun fired, as a signal for them to come
off.  The topsails were loosed, the cable hove short, and we were ready
to start at the first puff of the land breeze that might come off the
mountains.  We were all anxiously looking out for the appearance of the
captain.  The moment his gig came alongside, she was hoisted up, the
anchor hove in, the sails let fall, and we glided out of the harbour.
Under the influence of the land breeze, with studding-sails set below
and aloft, we ran on at a rapid rate, expecting that we should reach
Barbadoes in about a week at the furthest.  When once away from the
land, the wind dropped, and for hours we lay becalmed.  The next morning
we got a light breeze, which enabled us to steer our course.  A constant
look-out was kept for the enemy, for though the main body of the French
fleet was said to be in harbour, it was likely that their cruisers would
be met with.

Nettleship, Tom Pim, and I were in the morning watch.  The first ruddy
streaks, harbingers of the rising sun, had appeared in the eastern sky,
when the look-out who had been sent aloft shouted, "A sail on the
lee-bow."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

FRESH CAPTURES.

There had been a stark calm since the commencement of the middle watch.
The sails still hung up and down against the masts.

"What does she look like?" inquired Mr Bramston, the lieutenant of the
watch.

"A ship, sir," was the answer.

Nettleship, with his glass at his back, sprang up the rigging to take a
look at the stranger.

"She's a ship, sir, but appears to me to be a small one," he observed as
he came down.  The chances are that it's all we shall know about her.
If she gets a breeze before us she'll soon be out of sight.

Soon after, some catspaws began to play across the water.

"Hurrah! we shall get the breeze before the stranger feels it," cried
Nettleship.

Now the canvas began to bulge out; now it again dropped.  The royals and
topgallant sails filled, and the frigate moved slowly through the water.
Her speed soon increased, however, as the breeze freshened.  At length
we could see the stranger from the decks, for, as she still lay
becalmed, we were quickly coming up with her.  Nettleship again went
aloft, and I followed him.

"What do you think of her?"  I asked.

"She's Spanish or French; I'm pretty certain of that.  A flush-decked
ship, probably carrying twenty to six-and-twenty guns."

"If she can't escape, will she fight, do you think?"  I inquired.

"If her captain has any pluck in him, he may hope to knock away some of
our spars, though he can't expect to take us," he said.

When we again came below, and Nettleship made his report, the drum beat
to quarters.  Every stitch of canvas we could carry had been set, below
and aloft.  We were carrying down the breeze as we glided on towards the
stranger.  She also made all sail, though she still lay becalmed; but
every moment we expected to see her canvas blow out, when, if she was a
fast vessel, she might lead us a long chase before we could come up to
her.  As our object was to get down to Barbadoes with all speed, the
captain might consider it his duty to let her go, rather than be led out
of his course.  As we approached, our bow-chasers were got ready, to
send her an unmistakeable message that she must strike, or run for it.
Hitherto she had shown no colours.  Presently the French ensign was run
up at her peak.  Immediately afterwards a flash issued from her stern,
and a shot came bounding over the water towards us; but we were not yet
within range.

"That's a long gun," observed Nettleship.  "If she keeps ahead, she may
do us some damage with it before we get alongside of her."

"Give her the starboard bow gun, Mr Saunders," cried the captain.

The gun being trained as far forward as possible, we yawed slightly to
port.  We watched the shot as it flew across the water.  It was well
aimed, for it struck the counter of the chase; but its force must have
been nearly expended, for it fell back into the sea.

All the sails of the chase were now drawing, and away she went before
the wind.

"She may still lead us a long dance, unless we can knock away some of
her spars," observed Nettleship.  "She's evidently a fast craft, or her
commander would not attempt to escape.  We are, however, as yet gaining
on her; and, if we can once get her under our broadside, we shall soon
bring down her colours."

While he was speaking, another shot was fired from the Frenchman's
stern.  Ricochetting over the surface, it passed close to our side.
After this she continued firing shot after shot.  Two went through our
canvas, others missed us.  At last one came on board, and carried off a
man's head.

Captain Macnamara, anxious to get up to her, would not lose way by again
yawing to fire; and we had to receive her shot without returning the
compliment.

"It's very annoying to be bothered by a small craft like that," said
Tom.  "However, we'll pay her off when we do get up with her."

Fast as she was, our wider spread of canvas enabled us before long to
bring our foremost guns to bear.  They were fired in rapid succession.
The first discharge produced no apparent damage; but at the second, down
came her mizen-yard.  On seeing this, our crew cheered lustily, and our
guns were quickly run in and reloaded.  The enemy, however, showed no
intention of striking.

Just as we were again about to fire, putting her helm to starboard, she
brought the whole of her larboard broadside to bear on us, and a dozen
round shot came crashing aboard the frigate.

Three of our men fell, and several others were wounded, mostly by the
splinters which flew about the deck.  None of our spars, however, were
shot away.

Before she could again keep before the wind the whole of our starboard
broadside was poured into her.  It was better aimed even than hers.  The
sound of the shrieks and cries rising from her deck told us of its
fearful effects.  Still her colours were flying.

Again keeping before the wind, she stood on, blazing away at us from two
long guns in her stern.  The loss of her mizen told on her sailing.
Slowly but surely we got nearer and nearer.

"Shall we not soon be up with her?"  I asked Nettleship; for it was
trying work to be peppered at without being able to return more than a
single shot occasionally.

"As surely as the sun sets and rises again, unless she knocks away one
of our masts, or brings down our main or fore-yard; and then it's
possible that she may get off after all."

"I made sure we should have her before many minutes were over," I
observed.

I remarked the eager countenances of the men as they stood at their
guns, expecting every moment the order to fire.  It came at last.  Once
more we kept away.

"Give it them now!" cried the captain, and every gun sent forth a sheet
of flame.

Our shot told with fearful effect on the enemy's deck.  There seemed to
be confusion on board, and then a man was seen to spring aft, and down
came the colours.

A cheer rose from our men at the sight.  We stood on, however, till we
were close enough to hail, when the captain ordered through the
speaking-trumpet the Frenchman to heave to, threatening to fire another
broadside if he failed to do so.  The order was obeyed; and we also
having hove-to, a boat was lowered to send on board and take possession.
Mr Bramston went in her, and I accompanied him.

On reaching the deck of the prize, a glance showed me the fearful damage
our guns had produced.  In all directions lay numbers of dead seamen,
the deck slippery with gore.  The bulwarks were shattered, two of the
boats knocked to pieces, and the ship was otherwise severely damaged.

A lieutenant stepped up to us.

"My captain lies there," he said, and he pointed to a body concealed
beneath a flag; "another of my brother officers is killed, the rest are
wounded, and I alone am unhurt."

Mr Bramston complimented him on his bravery, and told him to prepare
for going on board the frigate.

Meantime other boats came alongside and removed the crew of the prize,
which proved to be the _Soleil_ carrying eighteen guns and six
carronades, with a crew of one hundred and eighty men, upwards of thirty
of whom were killed or wounded.

Mr Bramston sent me back with this information.  The captain at once
decided to remove the prisoners, and send the prize to Port Royal.

As no time was to be lost, the boats were lowered, and the prisoners
soon brought on board.

The captain at once sent for Nettleship, Tom, and me.

"I intend to send you in charge of the prize, Mr Nettleship," he said,
"and these two youngsters can accompany you.  Fifteen men are all I can
spare you, so you must make the most of them.  All the prisoners will be
removed, with the exception of about a dozen, who may volunteer to
assist in working the ship, so that you'll easily look after them."

"Thank you, sir, for the confidence you place in me," said Nettleship,
who would gladly have accepted the command, even if he had had but half
a dozen men.

Tom and I promised to do our best, and hurried below to get our traps
ready.

I took care to apply for Larry, and to remind him to bring his riddle
with him, but I didn't hear what other men were selected to form the
prize crew.  Ten of the Frenchmen only could be induced to promise their
assistance.  Tom and I, without loss of time, accompanied Nettleship on
board.  As soon as the dead were put overboard, the decks washed down,
and the damages the prize had received were repaired, the men who had
come from the frigate to assist us returned to her.  She stood to the
southward, and we made sail for Port Royal.  Among the first men on whom
my eyes fell was Dan Hoolan, looking as sulky and morose as ever, though
he was going about his work with more activity than he generally
displayed.  As I caught sight of the rest of the crew, I found that
three more of the Irishmen pressed with him were among them.

"I hope that by this time they are content with their lot, and will do
their duty like men," I thought to myself; "still I would rather have
had any others."

"We are terribly short-handed, I must confess," said Nettleship, as he
and I were seated at dinner in the captain's cabin, while Tom Pim was
acting as officer of the watch.  "I know I can trust you two fellows,
however, and we must make the most of the men we've got.  There are many
of them about the worst on board; but if we have fine weather, they
won't have much to do, and we may hope not to catch a Tartar on the way.
We must take to our heels if we see a suspicious stranger, and the
_Soleil_ appears to have a fast pair, at all events, so we may hope to
escape.  Though I would rather be in a condition to fight than have to
run away."

"The Frenchmen only promised to assist in navigating the ship.  We
mustn't trust them to man the guns," I said.

"We'll see what our own men can do without them, then," said Nettleship
in a cheery tone.

We hurried over our dinner to let Tom come down and take his, while
Nettleship and I went on deck.  The weather looked favourable, and
Nettleship was in high spirits at finding himself in command of a fine
ship.  Should he take her to Port Royal in safety, he might reasonably
expect to obtain his long waited-for promotion.  Although the majority
of the men sent with us were the least reliable of the crew, we had an
old quartermaster, Ben Nash, and three other seamen, who were first-rate
hands, and we took care to put two of them into each watch.  Of course
there was plenty of work to do in getting the ship to rights.  As soon
as the men knocked off we heard Larry's riddle going.  Stepping forward,
I found that he had set all the Frenchmen dancing, and some of our own
men, too, who were enjoying themselves to their hearts' content.  "Larry
will take good care to keep the people in good temper," I thought to
myself, as I turned aft.

When night came on, Nettleship thought it prudent to shorten sail, as is
the custom of careful merchant skippers, who can't perform that
operation in a hurry.  We lost nothing by so doing, as for some hours it
was a stark calm.  Tom and Ben Nash were in one watch, Nettleship and I
in another.  Night passed quickly away.  Towards morning we got a
breeze, and were once more standing on our course.  We kept a bright
look-out, not, as we should have liked, to watch for a prize, but to run
away should a suspicious sail be sighted.  We kept no colours flying,
for should a Frenchman see us, we might have a better chance of avoiding
an encounter.  At daylight, as we had a fair breeze, all sail was again
set, and we stood gaily on our course.

"If this weather holds, we shall be safe at anchor in a couple of days
in Port Royal," said Nettleship.

"A sail ahead!" shouted the look-out, from aloft.

"We must continue on our course till we see what she is," said
Nettleship.

Tom Pim, who went aloft to have a look at her, on his return said that
she was a brig, standing to the westward, but too far off at the time to
judge of her size.  She appeared to be almost becalmed, while we,
carrying the breeze along with us, rapidly neared her.  At length we
could see her clearly from the deck.

"She has hoisted her colours," observed Nettleship.  "Though from the
cut of her canvas she's English, as far as I can make out, her flag is
French."

We had not yet hoisted our colours; indeed, as we were standing, the
Frenchman could not have seen them even if we had.

"There's no doubt about the flag," observed Tom, who had taken the
glass; "that is French, though she's an English merchantman, if I ever
saw one.  The people on board her recognise this ship as one of their
own cruisers, and take us for a friend."

"I believe you're right, Tom," said Nettleship, "and we'll not undeceive
them."

The stranger, having now got a breeze, hove-to, apparently wishing to
speak us.  We had to luff up a little to reach her.

"Hoist the French ensign," said Nettleship to me; and I ran it up to the
peak.

As we got nearer it became necessary to shorten sail, that we might
lower a boat to send on board and take possession, should it be found
that the brig had been captured by the French.  Whether or not it was
from the slow way in which we performed the operation, the suspicions of
the Frenchmen were aroused, and putting up their helm, they filled their
sails and ran off before the wind.  We immediately let fall our courses,
and hauling down the French flag and hoisting the English, stood away in
chase.

"Give her a shot, Tom," said Nettleship.  "We mustn't let her lead us
out of our course."

Tom and I hurried forward, and, training the gun ourselves, fired.  The
chase took no notice of the first shot, but we quickly again loaded, and
managed to send a second plump on board her.  To our satisfaction, she
immediately rounded to, when we were soon up to her, we also heaving to
to windward.

"You shall board her, Paddy," said Nettleship.  "Take care to let the
Frenchmen understand that it was fortunate for them we didn't sink the
brig."

Larry, Hoolan, and four other men, formed my boat's crew, all of us of
course being armed to the teeth.  We found only ten men on board, three
of whom were blacks, the rest French, under the command of a young
French midshipman.  He at once handed me his sword, with a polite bow.
As I understood French,--I forget if I before said so,--I learnt from
him that the brig was, as we supposed, English; that she had been
captured a week before by a French corvette; and that he was on his way
to Saint Domingo.  He looked a little downcast on losing his command,
but shrugged his shoulders, and observed that it was "_la fortune de la
guerre_."  I requested him and five of his white crew to accompany me on
board my ship.  He replied that he was ready, and begged that he might
be allowed to carry his traps with him.

"Certainly, monsieur," I replied; and he dived down below, as he said,
to pack them up.  As he was much longer in the cabin than I considered
necessary, I grew impatient, and followed him.  I found him talking to a
person in bed in one of the side-berths.

"I ought, monsieur, to have told you that I have a brother aspirant, who
is very ill; and I fear that it might cause his death were he to be
removed.  Your captain would be conferring a great favour on us both,
were he to allow me to remain with him, as no one else is so well able
to nurse him as I am."

"I'll ask him," I said, looking at the sick youth, who certainly
appeared very ill.  I regret, however, that I cannot delay longer, so
you must come with me.

"I'll obey you, monsieur," said the midshipman; and exchanging a few
more words with his sick companion, he followed me on deck.

Leaving Larry and two other men on board, I made three of the Frenchmen
take their places in the boat, and returned to the _Soleil_ with the
young Frenchman.  I told Nettleship of the request he had made.

"I don't like to refuse him, as what he says is no doubt true," said
Nettleship; "but we must take care that he plays us no tricks."

"Then am I to tell him that he may return on board the brig?"  I asked.

"Yes, you may take him with you, for I intend to send you in charge of
the prize, as I can't spare Tom; but Nash shall go with you,--you
couldn't have a better man;--and so with five hands, and the help of the
blacks you speak of, and a couple of the Frenchmen, you'll be able to
work the vessel, and by keeping in our wake you'll easily find your way
to Port Royal."  I was highly pleased at the confidence Nettleship
placed in me, especially as Tom was not a bit jealous.

"Nettleship thinks that as I'm a little chap I shouldn't inspire the
same respect among the Frenchmen that you will," he said, as we shook
hands before I went down the side.

The brig was the _Good Luck_, bound from Barbadoes to Halifax when she
had been captured.  The French midshipman, who was profuse in his
expressions of gratitude for being allowed to return to look after his
sick messmate, told me that his name was La Touche.

As soon as the boat which had brought me on board had gone back to the
_Soleil_ she made sail, and I followed in her wake.  I at once mustered
my crew.  The two Frenchmen said that they were perfectly ready to do as
their officer wished.

"I desire you, then, to obey monsieur, who is in command of this
vessel," said La Touche.

"Certainly we will obey him," answered the Frenchmen, making flourishing
bows.

The blacks, two of whom spoke English, said also that they were ready to
obey me.

On looking at the men, I saw that not only Dan Hoolan, but two of the
men who had been pressed with him, had also been sent; but then I had
Ben and Larry, on whom I could thoroughly rely; and the others, while we
kept close to the _Soleil_, would not venture to attempt any treachery.

In less than an hour the wind fell very light.  I saw, notwithstanding
this, by the way in which the brig slipped through the water, that she
was remarkably fast for an English merchant vessel.  This was
satisfactory, as I felt sure that during the night I was not likely to
fall behind the _Soleil_.

As the day drew on the wind fell altogether, and we lay becalmed at a
short distance from each other.  I divided my crew into two watches.  I
took one with Larry, two of our own crew, a Frenchman, and a black.  Ben
had charge of the other, with the remainder.  I did not think it prudent
to let La Touche take a watch, though he politely offered to do so.  The
night was excessively hot, and I felt more inclined to remain on deck
than below.  After La Touche and I had had supper, he said he would
remain in the cabin to look after his sick friend.  One of the Frenchmen
acted as steward, and the other as cook.  The former frequently came
into the cabin to bring us our meals, and to take food to the sick
midshipman.

I kept the first watch, and Ben relieved me at midnight, when I lay down
on deck, on a mattress I had brought up from the cabin, under a small
awning rigged near the after-part of the vessel.  I had been asleep for
a couple of hours or more, when I was awakened by feeling the vessel
heel suddenly over.

"All hands on deck!  Shorten sail!" shouted Ben in a lusty voice.

I sprang to my feet.  There was not a moment to lose.  La Touche, who
had been awakened at the same time, rushed up on deck, followed by
another person, who appeared to be as active as any one.  As rapidly as
we could, we let fly the topgallant sheets, lowered the peak, and
brailed up the foresail, while the helm was put up.  The brig righted,
fortunately not carrying away the masts, and off we flew before the
wind.  The Frenchmen and blacks behaved remarkably well, and ran aloft
to reef the topsails, and stow the lighter sails, which were flapping
loudly as they blew out with the wind.

The sky had become overcast; the scud flew rapidly along, just above our
heads, as it seemed, while the spoon-drift, blown off from rising seas,
covered the ocean with a sheet of white.

When all immediate danger was over, the stranger who had so mysteriously
shown himself slipped down the companion ladder, and I was too busy to
ask La Touche who he was.  I naturally concluded that he was the sick
midshipman La Touche had been so tenderly nursing.

As soon as we had got the brig to rights, I looked out for the _Soleil_
but could nowhere distinguish her.  Had she borne up? or having
shortened sail in time, was she still keeping her course?  I hoped that
the latter was the case, and resolved to attempt hauling to the wind,
and steering for Port Royal.  I told Ben of my intention, as he, I
considered, was the best seaman among my crew.

"It will be as much as we can do, sir, if we could do it at all," he
answered.  "The brig is not particularly stiff, or she would not have
heeled over as sharply as she did just now."

"The French officer knows better than we can what sail the brig will
bear.  I might ask his opinion," I remarked.

"Beg pardon, sir, but I would not ask him if I were you," said Ben.
"He'll of course say, `Keep before the wind; but he won't say that if we
do we shall chance to run right into the midst of a Spanish or French
fleet, or up to one of their cruisers, if so be this is only a passing
gale."

"I fear that it is not merely a passing gale; but still, if we can keep
the brig on a wind, we'll try and do it," I said.

I gave the order to man the braces, waiting for an opportunity to put
the helm down and bring the brig up to the wind.  Scarcely was the order
given, however, than a blast more furious than before struck the brig,
and which, had I not delayed carrying out my intention, would either
have hove her on her beam-ends or carried away the masts.  On we flew
before the wind, which was every moment increasing; while the seas rose
higher and higher, and came roaring up around us.  Even now we had more
sail set than we could safely carry, and I at once ordered the hands
aloft to furl the main-topsail, and to closely reef the fore-topsail.
Yet even when this was done, the brig flew on at a tremendous pace.

"To my mind, we've got old Harry Cane on board, sir," said Ben; "and the
sooner we get our fore-topsail stowed the better, to save it from being
blown out of the bolt ropes, and the less likely we shall be to lose the
masts.  If the foremast goes, the mainmast will be pretty sure to
follow."

"You're right, Ben," I answered, and I gave the order to furl the
fore-topsail.

Ben and Larry led the way aloft, and most of our own men followed; but
the two Frenchmen didn't seem to like the look of things, and remained
on deck.  I ordered them up, but they stood holding on to the bulwarks
without moving, and I had no power to compel them.  My own men, however,
were able to perform the operation without their aid, and at length,
having stowed the sail, they came down on deck.

Even now the brig dashed on at a furious rate, while the sea, roaring up
astern, threatened constantly to poop her.  Fortunately, we had plenty
of sea-room, and unless the wind should suddenly shift round to the
opposite quarter, as I knew it might do, I hoped that we should keep
afloat till the hurricane had abated.

Consulting with Ben, I did everything he advised to secure the masts and
spars.

When La Touche saw how we were employed, he went to the Frenchmen and
blacks, and induced them to assist; indeed, without their help we could
scarcely have done what was necessary.

As soon as we had finished all that was required, I went into the cabin,
and asked La Touche to find me a chart, and calculating where we had
been when the hurricane first struck us, I marked down as well as I
could the course we had since run, that I might better be able to find
my way back to Port Royal.  I was not a very experienced navigator,
still, having the exercise of my wits, I hoped to succeed, and I felt
not a little proud at the thought that I must trust to my own resources.
I could not expect assistance from La Touche, and no one else on board,
except the sick midshipman knew anything about navigation.

Expecting to follow close in the wake of the _Soleil_ I had not brought
a quadrant with me, but I found one in the cabin, as well as a French
nautical almanack; and I hoped, when the hurricane was over and the sky
had cleared, to be able to use them.

La Touche had hitherto occupied the state-room, but supposing that I
should turn him out, he had removed his things to a berth on the
opposite side, close to that of his messmate.

Having placed the chart and quadrant with the almanack in what was now
my cabin, I locked the door, and returned on deck.

The hurricane showed no signs of abating; but the brig, which was
fortunately not fully laden, behaved beautifully, and literally bounded
over the waves as she ran before the wind.  The crew continued on deck,
holding fast on to the stanchions, belaying-pins, and the rigging, to
save themselves from being washed away; for every now and then a sea
tumbled on board, and swept along the deck, sometimes over one quarter,
sometimes over another, and frequently over the bows; but the hatches
had been battened down, and no water got below.

"We shall do well, I hope, and carry the brig safely into Port Royal," I
observed to La Touche.

He shrugged his shoulders, and answered--

"For your sake I may wish it, though I shall not be sorry if we fall in
with one of our own cruisers before the voyage is ended."

"Very naturally; but should she appear, we will try our best to get away
from her," I said, laughing.

At length daylight broke.  A wild scene the ocean presented; the foaming
seas dancing up on all sides, through which the brig was struggling
onwards.  It seemed to me that the wind was blowing stronger than ever,
and I began to fear that we should be driven over towards the reefs and
shoals upon the American coast before it had ceased.  If so, shipwreck
was almost certain, and the chance of saving our lives would be small
indeed.  Still I kept up my spirits, and took care not to express my
fears to my shipmates.

Suddenly about noon the wind dropped, but whether or not it was gaining
strength for a fresh blow I was not certain.  I asked La Touche.  He
replied that he could not tell, but that it might be so, and that it
would be wise to be prepared for it.  The seas tumbled about so much
that I could not bring the brig to the wind.  I, however, first set the
fore, and then the main-topsail, and kept her before it to avoid the
risk of the seas pooping us.  The clouds at length began to disperse,
and in a short time the sea itself went down.

I lost no time in bringing the brig to the wind, making more sail, and
shaping a course for Jamaica.  Before nightfall the clouds had entirely
disappeared; and the setting sun cast a radiant glow over the sky and
sea, as the brig, heeling over to the breeze, sped on her way.

"I congratulate you, monsieur, on the change of weather, for I should
have been grieved as much as you would, had the brig been lost," said La
Touche, coming up to me.  "Still there's many a slip between the cup and
the lip,"--he gave an equivalent proverb in French.  "If one of our
cruisers appears, you'll have to congratulate me, though I hope you'll
receive the same courteous treatment that I have enjoyed from you, and
for which I have to thank you."

"I have no fear of that," I replied.  "Your cruiser has not yet
appeared.  The _Good Luck_ is fortunately a fast craft, and we'll do all
we can to put her at her best speed."

We had been unable to sit down to table during the hurricane, and had
had no time to take a regular meal since; but me of the French seamen,
who acted as steward, now placed a very substantial one on the table.  I
played the part of host, and La Touche that of guest.  His messmate was
too ill to get up, he said, but notwithstanding, though a sick man, he
managed to consume a fair quantity of the viands La Touche took to him.

"There ought to be some good wine in this locker, if the bottles were
not broken during the hurricane," said La Touche, rising and lifting up
the lid.  Groping about, he produced a couple of bottles of claret, and
another of cognac.

"There are several more here, so that we need not stint ourselves," he
said, laughing.

A corkscrew was soon found.  I took a couple of glasses.  The wine was
excellent, there was no doubt about that.  La Touche pressed me to take
a third.  "Come, we must pledge each other," he said, replenishing my
glass, and filling up his own.  "Here's to the continuance of our
friendship."

I felt pretty well tired, as I had been up the whole of the last night,
and a good portion of the previous one, so I was not sorry to have
something to set me up.  We struck our glasses together, and wished each
other health, prosperity, and promotion.

"You like the wine," said La Touche.  "Come--another glass; now we must
finish the bottle, and I don't wish to take a larger share than you
have."

"No, no, my friend," I answered, thinking there was something peculiar
in his manner.  "I command this craft, and must keep a cool head on my
shoulders, but I have no objection to your finishing the bottle, and
taking a second, if you like."

In vain he pressed me, for the more he pressed, the more determined I
became not to take another drop.  I found the wine indeed stronger than
I had supposed it was.  Besides which, I recollected the major's advice,
which strengthened me in my resolution.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

TREACHERY.

After supper we rose to go on deck.  I observed as we did so, that La
Touche replaced the bottle in the locker.  I felt more inclined to go to
sleep than to pace the deck, but I resolved to take the first watch,
that Nash might have the middle one.  The wind had fallen still more,
the moonbeams cast a silvery light over the ocean.  La Touche, who had
followed me out of the cabin, joined me, and we walked up and down for
some time.  At length, giving a yawn, he said--

"If monsieur does not wish me to keep watch, which I shall be happy to
do, I shall turn in, for I can scarcely keep my eyes open."

"Thank you," I said; "but I cannot disobey my orders, though I should
place perfect confidence in your honour."

"I am much obliged to you for the compliment," he replied in a
hesitating tone; and wishing me good-night, and a pleasant watch, he
dived below.

I continued walking up and down the deck, doing my utmost to keep myself
awake.  Seeing Larry, I called to him to come to me.  One of our men was
at the helm.  I asked Larry how the people were getting on forward.

"We're all as friendly as bees, Mr Terence.  Shure the Frenchmen are
mighty pleasant fellows, though I wouldn't be after trusting to them too
much.  The steward has got some bottles of the crathur, and he's been
serving it out pretty freely.  I have been afraid that Dan Hoolan and
Mat would be after taking more than is good for them, though Dan's head,
to be sure, could stand lashins of liquor, and be none the worse for
it."

"Take care, and not be tempted yourself, Larry," I said.

"No, no, Mr Terence, I know my duty too well for that, though the
Frenchmen in their love of me tried to force it down my throat."

"I wish you could manage to find the bottles of liquor, and bring them
aft, or heave them overboard; it would be putting temptation out of the
men's way," I said.

"Shure, Mr Terence, I'll obey your orders, though the Frenchmen won't
be loving me so much, if they find out it was myself that did it."

While Larry went forward to carry out my directions, I continued my
solitary walk.  I was afraid even to rest against the bulwarks for a
moment, or I should have been off to sleep like a shot.  Even as it was,
as I stood on deck watching the canvas, to see that the man at the helm
was steering properly, I more than once became unconscious of where I
was.  Though my eyes might not have closed, I lost the power of seeing,
now fancying myself on the deck of the frigate, now on board the
_Soleil_, and I heard the voices of Nettleship and Tom Pim talking to
each other, though except that they were speaking about me, I could not
make out what they said.  Now I opened my eyes.  "No higher!"  I sang
out, as I saw the head-sails almost aback.  The helmsman turned the
spokes of the wheel, and the sails filled I continued my walk, but soon
again stopped.  I went to the binnacle lamp to look at my watch.  It
still wanted half an hour to midnight.  I would have given much to have
had that half hour over; and it was with the greatest difficulty that I
managed to stand upright.  Once more as I stood, now looking out
forward, now at the sails, strange voices sounded in my ears, and my
senses wandered.

"Faith, Mr Terence, the spalpeens have been too sharp for me; I could
only find one bottle of spirits, and that was empty.  The blacks are as
drunk as fiddlers, and the Frenchmen seem to have lost their senses,
while Dan Hoolan and the rest of our men are much the same, barrin' Tim
Logan here, at the helm, and Ben Nash, and he's fast asleep, waiting for
me to call him, and relieve you."

"Well, then, Larry, go and rouse him up at once, for if he doesn't come
down soon there'll be only you and Logan to look after the ship, as I'm
pretty well done up."

"Hush, Mr Terence!  I'd like to see Logan kept at the helm," said
Larry, putting his hand to his mouth; "for when he goes forward I am
after thinking that the Frenchmen will be tempting him with the liquor,
and he's not the boy to refuse a glass of the crathur when it's put
before his nose."

"I'll speak to Nash when he comes," I said.  "Take a look-out ahead
before you go below."

In a short time Ben Nash came aft, hitching up his trousers and rubbing
his eyes as if just awakened out of sleep.  I gave him my directions,
and inquired about the rest of the crew.

"Why, sir, the watch below don't seem inclined to turn out and the men
forward seem more asleep than awake," he answered.  "It seems to me that
they have been having a drop too much; I only hope we shan't have to
shorten sail, or there won't be many of them fit to go aloft."

Ben's reply confirmed what Larry told me.  It made me very unwilling to
turn in, but so overpowerful was my sleepiness, that I knew it would be
impossible for me to keep awake much longer.

"I must lie down for half an hour or so," I said, "and if you observe
anything unusual, send Larry down to call me.  Let him stay by you if he
can manage to keep awake, while Logan remains at the helm a short while
longer."

"Never fear, sir," answered Nash.  "I'll do as you order me."

Under other circumstances I should have myself gone forward and roused
up the watch, but from the reports Nash and Larry had given me, I knew
that it would be useless, as I had no power to enforce obedience.  I
therefore very unwillingly went below, and threw myself on the bed all
standing, and in half a minute was fast asleep.

I didn't dream; not a thought passed through my brain till I was at
length partly awakened by a noise overhead.  What it was I couldn't make
out.  Presently I heard some one come down, as I supposed, to call me.
Now fully awake, I was on the point of jumping up to hurry on deck, when
I became aware that two persons were standing close to my berth.

"_Soyez tranquille, monsieur_," said the voice of La Touche.  "The brig
is no longer under your command; most of your people have joined my men,
and they insist on carrying her into the Havanna."

"Impossible!"  I exclaimed.  "My men would not have turned traitors.
I'll go on deck and see how matters stand."

"That we cannot allow.  I did not instigate my men to recapture the
vessel, they managed it themselves; but now that they have possession, I
dare not order them to give her up."

"I know that two of my people would have fought to the death rather than
have turned traitors," I exclaimed.

"Those two you speak of--the old man and the Irish lad--were
overpowered, and are stowed safely below, with handcuffs on their
wrists," he answered.  "Have I your word that you'll not interfere?  You
treated me with courtesy, and I wish you to be allowed to remain at
liberty; but if you decline to give me your word, I cannot prevent you
being treated as they are."

While he was speaking, I felt for my pistols, which I had placed at the
head of the berth, intending to spring up suddenly, knock him and his
companion over, and gain the deck, but they were gone.  My sword had
also been taken away.

I observed by the light of the lantern that his companion held, that
both of them were fully armed, and prepared to resist any attack I might
make on them.  The countenance of the other person, who wore the uniform
of a lieutenant, I did not recognise, but I guessed he must be the sick
messmate to whom La Touche had been so attentive.  I could not help
thinking also that La Touche was not so ignorant altogether of the
intentions of his crew as he asserted.

"I'll consider the subject, and let you know in the course of a few
minutes, if you'll give me that time for reflection," I answered.

I was anxious to gain time, for I still had a lingering hope that Nash
and Larry had managed to retain their liberty, and that if I could once
get on deck, we might recover possession of the brig.

"I'll not hurry you, monsieur, but shall be very much grieved if you
will not give me your word, as I shall be under the painful necessity of
subjecting you to an indignity such as I would willingly avoid,"
observed the lieutenant.

I spent the time in considering what I would do, and finally came to the
conclusion that it would be useless to refuse the freedom offered me,
as, were I handcuffed and imprisoned below, I could not assist my two
faithful men, or make any attempt to recover the brig.

I therefore said, with as good a grace as I could command, "I accept
your offer, Monsieur La Touche."

"You must give your word to this gentleman, who is my superior officer,"
said La Touche, turning to the supposed sick man.

I said nothing; but I had a shrewd suspicion that he had remained on
board for the purpose of carrying out the plan which had been so
completely successful.  I felt, however, very much downcast, and very
foolish at being outwitted, and indignant at the treacherous conduct of
my own men.  Yet what more could I have expected from Hoolan and his
associates?

"Monsieur, I promise not to interfere with the discipline of the brig,
provided I am allowed to retain my liberty," I at length said,
addressing the lieutenant.

"That is well," he replied.  "I would advise you to lie down again and
finish your sleep.  You will be in better heart to-morrow to bear your
misfortune, and we wish to return the courtesy which we have received at
your hands.  It is the fortune of war, and we have acted fairly."

I was not so clear about that, but there was no use in complaining, so I
at once threw myself into the berth, and in a minute was in happy
forgetfulness of all that had occurred.

Next morning, when I went on deck, I found the brig was steering to the
north-west.  How different I felt to the day before; then I was in
command, now I was a prisoner.  As I cast my eye along the deck, I
caught sight of Hoolan and the other mutineers.  He scowled at me
maliciously, but did not approach, and the others continued the work on
which they were engaged.  La Touche had charge of the deck.  I had my
misgivings as to how it had fared with Larry and Nash.

I turned to the French midshipman, and said--

"I should like to see my people who did not mutiny.  Where are they?"

"Two are in the hold, and the one who was at the wheel was struck down
and killed with an axe, and is overboard.  It was a case of necessity,
and the fortune of war."

I made no answer, for I was too indignant to speak.  At last I said--

"Will you give me permission to go down and see my poor men?  It will be
a consolation to them to know that I am safe, for one who is my
foster-brother is much attached to me, and the other is a faithful
fellow."

The midshipman seemed struck at hearing this, and at once said that he
would obtain permission from his lieutenant.  He went into the cabin,
and quickly returned, saying that I might go and see the men.  Taking a
lantern which he ordered one of the crew to bring me, I went down into
the hold, and there, in a small space on some planks placed on the
cargo, and surrounded by casks, I found Larry and Ben Nash, with
handcuffs on their wrists, and their legs tied, seated side by side.

"Is it yourself, Mr Terence?" exclaimed Larry, as I appeared.  "Have
you come to set us free?  Have you got the brig again?"

"I wish that I had," I answered, "but there's no such good luck for us.
I'm a prisoner at large, and I have obtained permission to come and see
you, as I wanted to know how you're getting on, and how it all
happened."

"Shure it's bad enough for myself, Mr Terence, but it's worse for poor
Ben here, for just look at him,--he's got a mighty ugly prong in his
side, another in his shoulder, and a knock in his head, which was enough
to do for him.  Tim Logan was killed entirely; but don't mind me, just
look to Ben, he can scarcely speak."

Ben's face was pale as death.

"Where are you hurt, Nash?"  I asked.

He groaned as he told me.

"But it's water I want, sir; the fellows haven't brought us any since we
were down here.  Once Dan Hoolan came to look at us, and when I asked
him for some, he turned away with a growl, swearing I might die of
thirst before he would bring me any."

Immediately on hearing this I sprang on deck, and begged La Touche to
let me have a jug of water.  He ordered one of the Frenchmen to bring it
to me, and I returned with it.  I first gave some to Nash, who, though
he eagerly bent forward his head as I lifted the jug to his lips, seemed
to have a difficulty in swallowing.  I next put it to Larry's mouth, and
he quickly gulped down the contents.

"Shure, that does a boy good," he exclaimed, drawing breath.  "I
wouldn't have taken it all, if I had been after thinking that Ben would
have been wanting it."

"I hope easily to get some more if he requires it," I said; but on
looking at poor Ben it appeared to me that neither water nor food would
restore him.  He was leaning back, gasping violently.  His eyes, as I
held the lantern to them, appeared to have lost all animation.  I put
the lantern down on the deck, and supported him in my arms.

"It's cruel in those fellows to keep the manacles on him while he's
suffering thus," I exclaimed.  "I'll ask La Touche to have them taken
off.  He could no longer, even if he had a will, interfere with them."

Springing on deck, I made my request to La Touche; he replied that he
would go below and consult his commanding officer.  He soon returned.

"If you think that the man is really dying, Lieutenant Dubois will give
you leave to do as you desire," he said, "but you must be answerable for
him."

"I feel certain that he will die unless he is properly cared for," I
answered.

He called to one of the blacks who belonged to the armourer's crew on
board the French frigate, and told him to go below and knock off the
Englishman's irons.  I thought I might put in a word for Larry.

"May they release my foster-brother?"  I asked.  "Poor fellow, he did
but his duty in defending the brig, and I'll be responsible for his good
conduct."

"Yes.  Lieutenant Dubois fancied that I spoke of both of them, and for
my part, I am very willing to do as you wish," he answered.

I hurried below, accompanied by the black.  Nash was still breathing
hard, and scarcely had the armourer commenced operations, when the poor
fellow fell back in my arms, his spirit set free before his body was
liberated from the irons.  The black continued knocking away, quite
indifferent to what had occurred.

"It's all over with poor Ben," exclaimed Larry, who was eagerly watching
the operation.

"Yes, he's gone," I answered, as I felt the honest seaman's wrist.

The black finished his work, and then stretched the body out on the
deck.

"And now, my friend, I'll beg of you to release this young fellow," I
said.  "You wouldn't like to have irons on your wrists longer than you
could help."

"Not de first time I hab dem on, and big chain too; but dis nuttin',"
said the black, and a few blows sufficed to set Larry free.

He sprang to his feet, knocking his head against the deck above him with
a force which brought him down again, but fortunately the crown of an
Irishman's head is thicker than that of most people, and he quickly
recovered himself.

Telling him to sit quiet till I got leave for him to appear, I went on
deck to report the death of Nash.

"Ah, they told me the man was badly hurt," said La Touche.  "He was a
brave fellow, for he fought desperately.  We will bury him forthwith."

"And my follower, may he return on deck?"  I asked.  "Both of us will be
glad to assist in navigating the ship, if our services are required."

"Yes, you can do so; but I do not think that you will return the
compliment we paid you, by attempting to retake the brig from us," he
answered, laughing.

"You are right, monsieur," I answered.  "I have given you my word to
that effect, and the word of an English officer is never broken."

La Touche winced.  "I took no part," he observed, "in capturing the
brig; you'll understand that."

I made no reply, though I was convinced that all along he was cognisant
of the plot and plans of his lieutenant.  The treachery of Hoolan and
his companions enabled him to succeed with greater ease than he could
otherwise have expected.

With the assistance of the black armourer, Larry and I sewed Ben up in a
piece of canvas which he obtained for us, with a shot at the feet.  We
then together carried the body to a port, and launched it overboard, no
one offering to render assistance, but at the same time not interfering
with our proceedings.  When Lieutenant Dubois came on deck, he bowed
politely to me, and we exchanged a few words, but he didn't appear
inclined to enter into conversation.  Perhaps he felt conscious that he
was guilty of treachery in allowing his men to mutiny, even if he had
not instigated them to do so, after the kind way in which he had been
treated.  Of course Nettleship made a great mistake in allowing him and
the midshipman to remain on board; but judging them by his own sense of
honour, he could not suppose it possible they would take advantage of
his generosity, and even dream of attempting to recapture the brig.

Larry, when I was on deck, always kept close to me, and he asked whether
I could obtain permission for him to sleep under the companion ladder,
or anywhere aft, so that he might be within call.

"In truth, Mr Terence, I'm not fond of the looks Dan Hoolan casts at me
when I go forward," he said.  "I shouldn't be surprised on waking some
night to find him after cutting my throat or giving me a knock on the
head, for he knows that if it hadn't been for poor Ben and Tim Logan and
me, he would have tried to kill you, Mr Terence, that you might not
appear against him; but we fought as long as we could, till the French
lieutenant came on deck, and there was only myself remaining unhurt."

I felt very certain that what Larry said was true, and La Touche
afterwards corroborated the account.  How Larry had escaped seemed a
wonder, till I heard that he had seized a handspike, and using it as a
shillelah, or rather as a singlestick, had kept his enemies at bay, and
defended himself.  Whenever I saw Hoolan on deck, I observed that he
cast sinister looks at Larry and me, and I felt very sure that if he had
an opportunity he would carry out his threat of putting an end to us.
When I told La Touche of Larry's wish, and his reason for it, after
speaking to the lieutenant, he said it should be complied with.  At
meal-time the officers invited me into the cabin, and, to do them
justice, treated me with as much courtesy as if I had been a willing
guest.

"We have changed places, but we hope that you don't bear us any
ill-will," said La Touche, filling up my glass with claret.  "Here's to
your health, and may our friendship endure as long as our lives.  When
peace is established between our two countries which I suppose will be
some day or other, I shall be enchanted if you will pay me a visit at my
father's chateau in Normandy."

"With the greatest pleasure in the world," I answered; "though I confess
I didn't think you would play me so cruel a trick."  I didn't wish to
use a harsher expression.

"Believe me, monsieur, that it was from no design of mine.  I but
performed my duty.  Until the vessel was in the hands of the mutineers,
I was not aware myself of what was going to happen.  Monsieur Dubois
will corroborate what I state."

"La Touche speaks but the truth," said the lieutenant.  "He acted under
my orders, for, knowing his sense of honour, I didn't confide my plan to
him."

I was very glad to hear this, as I was much inclined to like La Touche,
and was grieved to suppose that I had been disappointed in him.

The weather, after the hurricane which had been the chief cause of my
misfortune, rapidly moderated, and became very fine; and though the wind
was generally light, the brig made good way to the south-westward.
During the day one of the Frenchmen, or La Touche himself, was
constantly at the masthead, on the look-out for vessels, either to avoid
suspicious strangers, or hoping to fall in with one of their cruisers.
The lieutenant had at first intended to steer for Havanna, on the
northern coast of Cuba; but just as we passed the latitude of Jamaica
the wind shifted to the westward, and he determined to run for
Port-au-Prince, at the westward end of Saint Domingo.  He didn't conceal
his intentions from me; indeed there was no object in his doing so.  He
asked me whether we were likely to fall in with English cruisers between
Jamaica and Cuba.  I told him what I believed to be the case, that they
would most probably be found on the south or west side of the island,
looking out for the French and Spanish fleets expected to be coming from
Havanna.

"I am surprised, indeed, that we have not fallen in with one of our
cruisers already," I said.

"There is a reason for that," he remarked.  "The hurricane, of which we
only felt the edge, will have driven them into port, or have sent them
ashore, or to the bottom.  I thought of that before I ventured here, and
calculated that it must have been some days before they could put to sea
again."

I believed that the lieutenant was right, and it lessened my hopes of
the brig being retaken; still I did not abandon them altogether, and the
thought contributed to keep up my spirits.

Supper over, after a few turns on deck I begged leave to turn in and
finish out the sleep which had been so disagreeably interrupted the
previous morning.  Both the officers begged I would return to the berth
I had previously occupied.  I thought it best to accept their courtesy.
When Larry saw me go below, he came down the companion ladder, and after
attending on me, as I told him he might do, he stowed himself away under
it.  When I awoke next morning, finding myself in my old berth, for a
few seconds I forgot all that had occurred, and fancied myself still in
command of the brig, but the reality soon came back to me.  With
anything but pleasant feelings I turned out, and having dressed, went on
deck.  Larry, who had slept undisturbed, followed me up.

"I'm after thinking, Mr Terence, that Dan was looking for me, but, as
good fortune would have it, I found an empty biscuit cask, so what did I
do but poke my head into it, and cover my neck up with a thick
handkerchief," said Larry, as he stood by my side.  "Thinks I to myself,
if Master Dan wants to be after giving me a whack on the skull, I shall
have had time to jump up before he has done for me; but the spalpeen did
not find me out, I've a notion, and I'll be on the watch for him if he
does, another night."

I found La Touche on deck, and we exchanged salutations.  The brig was
under all sail, standing to the eastward.  I cast my eye eagerly astern,
half hoping to see a British man-of-war in chase of us; but I found that
the Frenchmen were carrying all sail, as was but natural, to reach their
destination as fast as possible.  I could just distinguish to the
southward the distant mountains of Jamaica, rising like a blue irregular
line above the horizon.  Nothing could be more beautiful than the
weather.  The sky was bright; the ocean glittered in the rays of the
rising sun.

In spite of this, I could not keep my spirits up, and put away the
thoughts of the fate in store for me.  Instead of serving my country,
gaining honour and promotion, and passing my time in the society of
shipmates to whom I was much attached, I was doomed to be imprisoned in
some out-of-the-way part of Saint Domingo, or sent across the Atlantic
to be shut up in a French fortress, as I knew that other officers had
been.

Now that their hopes of escaping increased, the Frenchmen became still
more courteous, and did their best to make my stay on board pleasant.  I
should have been glad to have regained my liberty, but certainly should
have pitied them if we had been captured.

At length we made the west side of Saint Domingo, and, entering the Bay
of Gonavez, ran up to the harbour at its eastern extremity.  Here we
found a considerable number of men-of-war at anchor.  We were at once
visited by several officers, who seemed surprised to hear that we had
been at sea and escaped being wrecked, every ship in the harbour having
lost masts or spars, or received other serious damage.

Lieutenant Dubois had promised that he would keep us on board as long as
possible, as we should, on being landed, have been moved away into the
interior.  I was, of course, very glad to take advantage of his kind
offer.

We had not been long at anchor before an officer came off from the shore
with an official-looking packet.  I was in the cabin when he delivered
it to Lieutenant Dubois.

"The governor has heard of your arrival, and of the undamaged condition
of your vessel," said the officer.  "He is desirous of sending important
information to Admiral the Count de Grasse, who will probably be found
at the island of Guadaloupe, and he desires that you will sail
forthwith, and convey these despatches.  There is no vessel in harbour
fit to go, and he considers your arrival a fortunate circumstance."

Dubois at once expressed his satisfaction, and promised to sail without
a moment's delay.  I was afraid that he might consider it necessary to
send Larry and me on shore; but I thought it prudent to say nothing, and
continued seated as if I belonged to the vessel.  The French officer
from the shore made no remark, and having performed his commission,
speedily took his departure.

"All right," said Dubois to me; "I'm not compelled to land you, and if
you like we can continue our voyage together.  It will give you a better
chance of escape if the fortune of war should throw me into the hands of
one of your ships; but I have no intention of being caught if I can help
it."

I thanked him very much, and assured him that nothing would give me
greater pleasure than being once more able to play the host to him.

Before we sailed, however, six more hands, whom he had asked for, were
sent on board to strengthen his crew; but Hoolan and the other mutineers
were allowed to remain, for which I was sorry.  Perhaps they would
rather have gone on shore, for if the brig were recaptured, they would,
to a certainty, have to grace her yard-arms before many days had passed
over their heads.

We had to beat out of the harbour, but rounding Cape Tiburon we got a
fair wind, and stood away for Guadaloupe.

We had a long passage before us, and I was continually thinking of what
the fortune of war might bring about.  My fear was that we might fall in
with a French cruiser, to which Lieutenant Dubois might consider it his
duty to deliver up his despatches, that they might be conveyed more
speedily to their destination, and that we might have to return to Saint
Domingo.  Still I did my utmost to look at the bright side of the
picture; and I fancied how pleasant it would be to find the brig under
the guns of an English frigate,--perhaps the _Liffy_ herself.

I had another secret source of satisfaction: I had given my word to La
Touche simply not to interfere with the discipline of the ship, and I
had made myself answerable that Larry would not; although I had said
nothing about not attempting to make my escape, should an opportunity
occur, though that was very remote indeed.  In a French port it would be
useless, as I should only tumble out of the frying-pan into the fire, or
find myself among enemies.  I could not speak French well enough to pass
for a Frenchmen, and Larry's tongue would at once have betrayed him.
Still hope kept me up, although what to hope for was indistinct and
uncertain.

Larry, having somewhat got over his unpleasant suspicions of Hoolan's
intentions, was as merry as usual, and in the evening kept his fiddle
going, and the Frenchman and blacks dancing to their heart's content.
He, however, was disinclined to remain forward after dark, and came back
to his hiding-place under the companion ladder, where he was allowed to
sleep under the supposition that he was there to attend on me.

I should have said that when the officer from the shore had delivered
his despatches to Lieutenant Dubois, the latter, instead of locking them
up in his own berth, put them into a drawer in the cabin table.  Of
their contents I, of course, was kept in ignorance,--indeed, I was not
certain that Lieutenant Dubois himself knew their purport.

I do not even now like to speak of the thoughts which passed through my
mind about these despatches.  I was greatly troubled by them.  Sometimes
the idea occurred to me that when no one was in the cabin, I might throw
them out of the stern port, and take the consequences of my act; but
then I should be making an ungrateful return to the young French
officers who had treated me so courteously.  I dreaded to commit an act
which might be dishonourable; at the same time, it was evident that by
destroying the despatches I should be benefiting my country.  From the
eagerness which the officer who brought the packet had shown to get it
off, I was convinced that it was of great importance, and that perhaps
the fate of some of our islands might depend on its delivery.  I was
surprised at Dubois' carelessness at leaving it exposed, though less at
La Touche, who, though a good-natured fellow, was harum-scarum and
thoughtless in the extreme.  Perhaps he might have returned me the
compliment.

The wind was light; and there seemed every probability that we should
make a long passage.  So much the better, I thought.  While we were at
sea I was in good spirits, for I knew that there was a good chance of
the brig being recaptured.  Larry kept the crew alive with his fiddle
forward, and even Dan Hoolan looked somewhat less surly than usual; at
the same time Larry kept out of his way, and never trusted himself at
night on deck when I was not there.  Whether he was right in his
suspicions or not was uncertain, but at all events Hoolan was a ruffian,
and a traitor to his country.

I treated Larry as, of course, an officer does not usually treat an
ordinary seaman.  He was one night walking the deck with me, and we were
talking of Ballinahone and our early days, when he suddenly said,
"Shure, Mr Terence, there's something on your mind.  I've thought so
more than once.  Just say now what it is."

"You are clever, Larry, to find that out," I answered.  "It's your love
for me enables you to do it.  It's nothing you would think much about.
I'm troubled with the thoughts that we are carrying despatches to the
French admiral, which, if delivered, may cause some serious injury to
our country.  They are kept in the drawer of the cabin table, and I
might at any moment throw them overboard, and defeat the Frenchmen's
object."

The moment I said this I regretted it, as it struck me that it was like
instigating Larry to do what I would not do myself.  The effect on him
was what I supposed my words would produce, for he at once replied,
"Thin, shure, overboard they go before the world's many hours older."

"No, no, Larry! you mistake me," I exclaimed.  "That's just what I don't
want you to do.  If it has to be done, I'll do it myself, and I forbid
you to touch the packet I insist on your promising me that you will
not."

Very unwillingly Larry gave the promise, and I knew that I could trust
him.  I then let the subject drop, regretting that I had broached it to
my faithful follower.

"If the Frenchman choose to hang me, I will not bring the same fate on
him," I thought.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

LIFFY AHOY!

Day after day went by.  Though we occasionally saw a sail, we kept out
of her way.

At length, one morning the look-out shouted, "A sail on the starboard
quarter!"

We were just then setting royals, which we did not carry at night.  We
watched the stranger.  "She has borne up in chase," cried La Touche, who
had gone aloft.

Dubois immediately ordered the brig to be kept before the wind, and
studding-sails to be set on either side.  The wind freshened, and away
we flew before it.  The brig being lightly laden, it was her best point
of sailing, as I had observed.  It took us out of our course, however.
I sincerely hoped that the wind would increase, and that it should carry
away some of our spars, and thus enable our pursuer to come up with us,
for I took it for granted that she was English.  The Frenchmen watched
her eagerly, for we could see her topsails from the deck.

"Do you think we shall get away from her?"  I asked La Touche in an
indifferent tone, as if it were a matter of no consequence to me.

"I hope so," he replied.  "This brig is a regular little fly-away, and
your frigates are not generally fast sailers."

"But why do you think she is one of our frigates?"  I asked.  "She may
be French after all, and you may be running away from a friend."

"I think she is English, because none of our cruisers are likely to be
hereabouts at present," he answered; and then, as if he had said
something without thought, correcting himself, he added, "Of course she
may be French; but we think it safest to keep out of the way of all
men-of-war."

The topsails of the stranger rose gradually above the horizon; she was
evidently a large vessel--a frigate, if not a line-of-battle ship.  The
little brig flew on gaily, as if feeling as eager to get away as were
those on board.

"Ah, my friend! a stern chase is a long chase," observed Dubois, who saw
me watching the stranger.  "You are not going to rejoin your ship just
yet."

"I have made up my mind to be content with whatever happens," I said.

"You are wise," answered Dubois.  "It is the best thing under all
circumstances."

Still I did not despair of being overtaken.  Perhaps she might be the
_Liffy_ herself, which had gone back to Jamaica, and was now returning
to the south.  We had a brisk breeze, though it did not increase, and
the brig continued running on at her utmost speed.  When I looked again,
some time afterwards, it did not appear to me that the stranger had
gained on us.  The hours passed slowly on; evening, however, at length
approached, and I was afraid that during the night Dubois would alter
the brig's course, and that we should manage to escape.  When I went
below for our meals, I endeavoured to maintain as calm a countenance as
I could, and to appear as cheerful as usual.

"You are a brave _garcon_," said Dubois, as we sat at supper.  "We
should be very sorry to lose your society, and I'll endeavour to keep
you on board as long as I can."

I thanked him, and said that I hoped to have the satisfaction of
returning his courtesy, should the tables once more be turned.  At last
darkness came on, and our pursuer was lost to sight.  As it was useless
to remain on deck, I turned in, and Larry as usual followed me below.
Whether it was from the excitement I had gone through, or from having
remained on deck all day, I cannot say; but I fell asleep immediately my
head touched the pillow, and slept as soundly as a top.  When I awoke, I
saw by the dim light coming through the bull's-eye that the day had
broken, and I hurried on deck, anxious to know if our pursuer was still
in sight Dubois and La Touche were there.  I saluted them as usual.
They did not appear quite as cheerful as they did on the previous day.
The brig was still before the wind, with every stitch of canvas she
could carry set.  On looking astern, there was our pursuer, though hull
down, but considerably nearer than before.

"Do not be too sanguine that she will come up with us.  When the breeze
freshens, we shall again get away from her," said Dubois.

"It is of course what you wish, monsieur," I observed.

"I've been after dreaming, Mr Terence, that that craft is the _Liffy_,
and that we were again on board her, as merry as crickets," said Larry,
coming to my side.

"But dreams, they say, go by contraries," I answered.  "It would have
been better not to have dreamed that."

"Shure, thin, I wish that I had dreamed that we had run her out of
sight," he answered.

Soon after the wind got up, and was soon blowing as freshly as on the
day before.  The Frenchmen's spirits once more rose.  Larry's and mine
fell.  The big ship, however, continued about the same distance off; but
as long as she did not gain on us, our captors did not mind.  At length
it seemed to me that we were actually drawing ahead.  Perhaps we might
be leading our pursuer further out of her course than she wished to go,
and she would give up the chase.  The Frenchmen, from their remarks,
seemed to think so.

Mid-day arrived; an observation was taken.  I found that we were in the
latitude of the Virgin Islands, still a long way from Guadaloupe.  When
once among the islands, we should very easily escape during the night.
Dubois and La Touche were congratulating themselves, when the look-out
aloft shouted, "Several sail in sight to the south-east!"

La Touche, immediately on hearing this, went to the masthead.  I should
have liked to have followed him, eager to know what they were.  He said
nothing till he came down.  I then saw by the way he spoke to Dubois
that he considered them to be enemies.  After a short consultation the
helm was put to starboard, and the brig headed more to the north; the
yards were braced up, though the studding-sails were still set.  In my
eagerness to ascertain what the strangers were, I sprang aloft without
waiting to ask leave of Dubois.  He did not, however, call me down.  As
I got to the topgallant masthead I looked eagerly to the southward, and
I made out what I took to be a large fleet standing to the eastward,
while here and there ships were scattered about, which I took to be
frigates.  I had no doubt that Dubois concluded they were English, and
had therefore no wish to run in among them.  We had heard before we left
Jamaica that Sir George Rodney was expected out to join Sir Samuel Hood,
and I had little doubt but that the fleet in sight was that of either
the one or the other of those admirals.  Whether the brig would escape
them or not was doubtful, and I expected every instant to see either a
frigate or corvette coming in chase of us.  Our other pursuer could not
have seen the ships visible from our masthead, and would therefore not
understand the reason for our change of course.  Had it been earlier in
the day, our capture by either one or the other would have been certain;
but Dubois might now manage, by good seamanship, to slip between the
two.  The wind increased, and our starboard studding-sails were taken
in; we carried those on our larboard side to the last.  Having satisfied
myself, I returned on deck.

"Do you know what those ships are away to the southward?" asked Dubois.

"Yes, monsieur, I believe them to be English," I answered.  "And you
expect them to catch us, do you?" he said.

"That depends on circumstances," I replied; "but I know your
determination, and believe that you will make every effort to escape."

"You may be sure of that," he said, laughing.  "See how I'm carrying on.
Many would have shortened sail before this."

I made no reply, but looked aloft.  The brig was literally tearing
through the water; the breeze was increasing; the sails were bulging
out, every rope stretched out to its utmost tension; the studding-sails
pulled and tugged as if eager to fly away.  Presently there came a loud
crack, and both studding-sail booms broke off close to the irons.  The
men attempted to get in the fluttering canvas.

"Cut! cut!" cried Dubois.  "Let them go!"

The wind shifted a point or two, and we had to haul still more up.  As I
had been unable lately to look at the chart, I could not make out
exactly for what place we were steering, but I could distinguish several
blue hillocks rising out of the ocean, which I knew must be small
islands, either the Virgin Islands or others in their neighbourhood.  We
were now steering due north.  I again went aloft.  The main body of the
fleet was no longer in sight, but three or four white sails could be
seen shining brightly in the rays of the setting sun far away astern,
while our pursuer could still be distinguished over our larboard
quarter, yet apparently no nearer than before.  On returning on deck
Dubois looked at me with a smile of satisfaction.

"We are not caught yet," he said.  "But bear it patiently, my young
friend.  We all have our trials."

I made no reply, but walked to the other side of the deck.  It was again
night; the steward came and invited me down to supper, in which I joined
Dubois, while La Touche remained on deck.  He did not think fit to tell
me what were his intentions, and though I should have liked to have
known, I did not ask him.  At last I turned in, and tried to go to
sleep.  I should not have minded hearing the brig go crash on shore, so
vexed did I feel at the idea of her having escaped.  Still I could not
but admire the determination of the two young French officers, and again
better feelings rose in my breast.  At length I fell fast asleep.  As I
had no watch to keep, I slept on, as usual, until daylight streamed in
through the bull's-eye over my head, when, to my surprise, I heard the
sound of the cable slipping out, and knew that the brig had come to an
anchor.  I dressed as speedily as I could, and went on deck.  We were in
a fine harbour with numerous vessels of all sizes and nations--Spanish,
French, Dutch, and Danish (the latter predominating)--floating on its
bosom, and among them a frigate, with the colours of England flying at
her peak.  I knew, therefore, that we were in a neutral port, for which
Dubois had steered when he found he could not otherwise escape.  On
examining the frigate more narrowly, my heart gave a bound, for I felt
almost sure that she was the _Liffy_, but as several vessels were
between us I could not make her out very clearly.

Dubois, who had probably been on deck most of the night, had gone below;
and La Touche was engaged in issuing his orders to the crew.  I took
care to conceal my feelings, and on speaking to Larry I found he had not
suspected that the frigate was the _Liffy_.  Still he might do so, and I
told him that I believed her to be our ship, charging him on no account
to exhibit his feelings.

"Shure, Mr Terence, that's a hard matter," he exclaimed.  "I half feel
inclined to leap out of my skin and get aboard her."

"We must try to do that by some means or other," I said; "but how to
accomplish it is the question.  Even if Captain Macnamara knew that we
were on board this brig, he could not come and take us by force."

"Why not, Mr Terence?" exclaimed Larry in surprise.  "Shure if I see
one of our boats pulling by, I'll be after shouting at the top of my
voice, to tell them we're here, and to axe them to come and take us off.
Our captain's not the man to desert us, nor Mr Saunders either; and as
soon as they know that we're prisoners, they'll be after sending a
couple of boats to release us; or maybe they'll bring the frigate round,
and blaze away at the brig till they sink her."

"That would be an unpleasant way of proceeding for us, at all events," I
answered, laughing.  "The reason they can't take us by force is, that
this is a neutral port, and all vessels in here must keep the peace
towards each other; so that if Monsieur Dubois refuses to give us up,
our captain can't compel him.  We must therefore manage to get away by
ourselves if we are to be free."

"Thin, Mr Terence, that's just what we will be after doing," said
Larry, taking off his hat and scratching his head while he considered
how the undertaking could be accomplished.  "Couldn't we just slip
overboard at night and swim to the frigate?  It wouldn't be further than
I have swum many a time in the Shannon."

"But the Shannon and this place are very different," I answered.  "Jack
Shark keeps as sharp a look-out here as he does in Port Royal harbour;
and we may chance to have our legs nipped off before we can get up the
side of the frigate."

"Shure, Mr Terence, thin I never thought of that," said Larry; "but
maybe the officers will go on shore, and they don't keep very strict
watch aboard here, so I might just manage to slip a grating and a spar
or two over the side, to make a raft; then we might paddle on it to the
frigate."

"I don't see any better plan than you propose," I answered; "though I
would risk a swim and the chances of encountering a shark rather than
not make the attempt to escape; for, even supposing the frigate on the
other side of those merchantmen should not prove to be the _Liffy_, we
should be welcome on board.  It is of the greatest importance that the
captain should know of the despatches the brig is carrying to
Guadaloupe, so that a watch may be kept on her movements, and that she
may be pursued and captured outside the harbour."

"Thin, Mr Terence, let me go alone; I'd have no difficulty in slipping
overboard, and there's less chance of my being missed," said Larry.
"When her captain knows that you're aboard the brig, he'll be after her
in a jiffy."

"No, no, Larry; I can never let you go alone.  Whatever we do, we'll do
together."

"That's like you, Mr Terence.  Just trust to me, thin; only do you be
ready for a start directly it's dark, and I'll be keeping a look-out on
deck for the chance of one of the _Liffy's_ boats coming near, to let
them know that we're aboard."

Tantalising as it was to see the ship, as I supposed, to which I
belonged within a short distance of me, and yet not be able to
communicate with her, I felt that I could do nothing for the present,
and that it was prudent not to be seen talking too much with Larry.  I
therefore told him to keep away from me during the day, unless he had
something particular to say, while I went below again, to finish my
toilet and wait for breakfast.

La Touche had been too busy to speak to me, and Dubois was still asleep.
I remained in my berth until the steward announced that breakfast was
ready, when I met the two officers, who had just come below.  They
politely invited me to take a seat at the table.

"Well, you see, we have managed to escape your cruisers," said Dubois,
as he poured me out a cup of coffee.  "We have reason to congratulate
ourselves, as we were very hard pressed."

"I must compliment you, monsieur, on your skilful seamanship," I said.
"I do so with sincerity, although I should have been very glad had you
been caught.  However, I am prepared to bear my disappointment
philosophically.  We have not yet reached Guadaloupe, and I don't
despair of regaining my liberty, though I conclude you'll not consider
yourself justified in letting me leave the brig?"

"For your sake I wish that we could," said La Touche; "but you are known
to be on board, and we should have to account for you; so I'm afraid you
must exercise the philosophy you speak of."  Imitating the Frenchman, I
shrugged my shoulders, as if I was perfectly resigned to my fate.  I
made no remark about the English frigate in the harbour, as the
Frenchmen didn't allude to her, though they could not have supposed that
I was ignorant of her being there.

I saw that the brig was riding at single anchor and hove short, and I
expected that Dubois was waiting for an opportunity of slipping out of
the harbour before the frigate was prepared to follow him.  That she
would do so, should the brig be discovered to be an English vessel, a
prize to the French, there could be no doubt, unless detained by some
matter of more importance.

After breakfast we walked the deck for some time, and then Dubois
ordered La Touche to take a boat and pull round the harbour.

"See as you pass yonder frigate there, how she's riding," he said;
"whether she appears to be ready to put to sea, and learn, if you can
ascertain, what brought her in here.  I wouldn't have come in had I
known that we should have found so unpleasant a neighbour."

"Do you know what frigate she is?" he asked, turning to me.

"As I can't see her hull clearly, were I perfectly acquainted with her I
should be unable to answer your questions, monsieur," I replied.

"Well, then, favour me by going aloft with my telescope, and you'll
then, by looking down on her deck, be able to tell me whether you
recognise any of those on board, or have to your knowledge seen the
frigate before."

From his manner I believed he had not an idea that I suspected the
frigate to be the _Liffy_.

I willingly agreed; and, taking the glass, went aloft.  All my doubts
were at an end.  I at once made out Captain Macnamara walking the
starboard side of the quarter-deck with Mr Saunders.  On the opposite
side, I distinguished several of my messmates by their figures.  Some of
the men were forward, but the greater number were below, and I could see
no signs of any intentions of getting under way.  I waited a
considerable time, and heartily I wished for a pair of wings, that I
might fly over the masts of the other vessels, and pitch down on her
deck.  No sight could have been more tantalising.  I descended at last,
and returning the telescope to Dubois, said--

"I confess frankly that I know the frigate.  She is the one to which I
belong."

"Is she a fast vessel?" inquired Dubois.

"She is considered so, monsieur," I answered.

"Faster than this brig?" he asked.

"Certainly, unless in a very light wind," I said.  "If you expect to be
chased, you have very little chance of escape from her, I should think."

"I must hope for the best," he said.  "There's a fine breeze out of the
harbour, and we may be off again before the frigate finds we are moving.
We have the advantage of being concealed from her sight, and she dare
not fire a gun or send a boat after us, even should she wish it, till
we're three leagues outside the harbour."

Dubois spoke in a confident tone, as if he did not think that there was
the slightest chance I should even try to make my escape.  I was
dreading all the time that he would ask me to give my word not to do so.
He didn't, however, appear to think of that.  In a short time La Touche
came back, and reported, as I knew he would, that the frigate didn't
appear to be preparing to sail.  Scarcely had he come on board than the
wind began to drop, till it became a stark calm.  I saw the officers
exchange looks with each other as they observed the dog vane hanging
right up and down.  It was very certain that we could not move, for we
had not boats sufficient to tow the brig out of the harbour.  There was
every prospect of the calm continuing for many hours.  The Frenchmen, by
the way they paced the deck, showed their vexation, every now and then
giving an impatient stamp with their feet.

At last La Touche stopped and said--

"Wouldn't it be well to go on shore and try and pick up some news?  We
may gain intelligence which may be of importance; at all events, we
shall pass the time more pleasantly than on board."

"A good idea," answered Dubois.  "We will go.  You'll be content to
remain on board?" he added, turning to me.  "It might be inconvenient to
take you with us, as we might meet some of your brother officers; but I
brought a few books of light literature in my portmanteau, besides my
nautical almanack, and you can read them while we're on shore."

I thanked him, and was very glad to find that he didn't wish me to go;
as, although by landing I might have a chance of making my escape, I
would not do so without Larry.

They did not wait for dinner; but telling the steward to bring me mine
at the usual hour, pulled away in one of the boats, leaving the brig
under the charge of a quartermaster, who had come on board at Gonavez
Bay.  He was a sharp-eyed old fellow, and had evidently been directed to
keep a watch on Larry and me.  Several shore-boats came alongside, but
after some fresh provisions had been purchased, the others were ordered
to keep off.

Soon after the officers had gone Larry came up to me.

"Hwist, Mr Terence," he said in a low voice.  "Dan Hoolan and the other
boys know that the frigate out there is the _Liffy_, and I heard Dan say
to one of them that they must take care we don't get away to her, for
he's afraid, if we do, that Captain Macnamara, when he hears of the
mutiny, will consider that he has a right to retake the brig, and that
they'll all be triced up to the yard-arm before many hours are over
afterwards."

"We must try, then, to throw them off their guard, Larry," I said.
"Have you thought of any other plan for escaping?"

"Not just yet, Mr Terence; but I'm still hoping that something will
turn up.  I'll tell you all about it presently; but I mustn't stop long
aft, for I have a notion that Dan and the rest have got something into
their heads, and that they won't be stopping aboard if they can help it,
to run the risk of hanging."

Larry again went forward, and I returned to the cabin.  I cannot say
that the books Dubois left me were edifying; and after I had turned over
a few pages, I threw them aside as abominable trash, not fit for any
gentleman's eyes to rest on.  They were such works as contributed to
prepare the way for the French Revolution.  The steward brought me an
excellent dinner, and placed a bottle of claret on the table, of which,
however, I partook very moderately.  I passed the afternoon as best I
could, now and then going on deck to have the pleasure of taking a look
at the _Liffy_, and hoping to see one of her boats passing.  I
determined, should one pull by, to hail her and say who I was; for I was
afraid that Nettleship might suppose the brig had been lost, and that
the report of my death might, by ill-luck, reach Ballinahone.  I
watched, however, in vain.  As evening approached I expected that Dubois
and La Touche would return.  Something kept them on shore; probably,
finding the calm continue, they were carrying out their intentions of
amusing themselves.  At last darkness came on, and I went back into the
cabin.  I should have said that the brig carried a small boat hoisted up
astern, but which was in a dilapidated condition, and considered not fit
to put into the water.  As we had no carpenter on board able to repair
her, she was allowed to remain hoisted up.  I had been in the cabin some
time, and I believe I must have dropped off into a doze, when I heard a
sound of blocks creaking, and presently there was a splash in the water.
Springing up, I looked out of one of the stern ports, which was open,
and could distinguish a boat just below me with a man in her, moving
round the quarter.  At first I thought he was Larry, and then I felt
sure that Larry would not have taken a boat without first giving me
notice of his intentions.  In less than a minute afterwards, however, he
poked his head into the cabin.

"Hwist, Mr Terence, it's just as I thought it would be," he whispered.
"Dan Hoolan and the rest are going to pull on shore.  They have made the
watch below drunk, and they have seized the anchor watch and put them in
limbo.  They fancy that if they can get away up the country, they'll be
safe, and I have a mind to go with them and pull the boat back, and take
you off.  Keep a look-out of the cabin window, Mr Terence; maybe I'll
come under the counter, and you can squeeze through the port without
anybody on deck finding us out.  Now I'm off."

Larry hurried out of the cabin, leaving me in a state of anxious doubt
as to whether he would succeed.  I was afraid of going on deck lest I
should be seen by the mutineers, and I at once therefore went to the
port, hoping that I might catch a glimpse of them pulling away.  Even if
Larry got off with them, there might be many chances against his
returning.  The boat even might fill before she could reach the shore,
or she might encounter the French officers returning to the brig, and be
seized.  I wondered at their carelessness in leaving the vessel with
such a crew as theirs; for those who had proved traitors to me might
have been expected to turn traitors to them.

Scarcely a minute had elapsed before, to my surprise, I heard a "hwist"
come from under the counter, and Larry's voice saying--

"Lend a hand, Mr Terence, and catch the painter as I chuck it up."

I did as he desired, and presently he climbed up in at the port.

"Hold fast there, Mr Terence," he said, as he squeezed through, and
springing forward locked the cabin door.  "I'll tell you all about it
when we're free of the brig," he whispered.

Quick as thought he made the painter fast to an eye-bolt, used to secure
the dead-light.  "Now jump into the boat, Mr Terence, and we'll be
off," he added.

As he bid me, I slid down the painter, expecting him to follow
immediately.  For a few seconds he didn't come, and I feared that
something had happened to him; but he soon appeared, and slid down as I
had done, holding in his mouth a knife, with which he quickly cut the
rope.

I had taken one of the oars, he seized another, and giving a shove
against the counter, sent the boat off from the brig.  We paddled away
with might and main, making, however, as little noise as we could.
Scarcely, however, had we gone half a cable's length than I heard a
gruff voice, which I recognised as Dan Hoolan's, uttering a fearful
oath, and inquiring what had become of the boat.  Several others replied
in the same tones; and one of them, who had apparently run aft,
exclaimed, "Shure there she is, and that so-and-so Larry Harrigan has
gone off with her."

"Come back, come back, you villain!" shouted the men.

"It's mighty likely we'll be after doing that," Larry was on the point
of shouting out, when I told him to be silent; and there being now less
necessity for caution, we bent to our oars with all our might.

"I wonder the villains don't fire at us," I said.

"Shure the cabin door's locked, and they can't get at the muskets, or
they would be after doing the same," answered Larry.

We had ample reason to pull hard, for the water was leaking in through
every seam in the boat; but I hoped that she might keep afloat long
enough to enable us to reach the side of the frigate.  Hoolan and his
companions, finding that it was of no use, had ceased hailing us.  We
had gone a short way when I saw a boat coming off from the shore.  "A
hundred to one the French officers are in her," I thought; "and if they
have heard the shouting from the brig, they will fancy that something
has happened, and be on the look-out.  However, we are in for it."  We
were at first pulling ahead of the vessels which were at anchor between
us and the frigate; but, on seeing the boat, I told Larry we would pass
under the stern of the one nearest us, and thread our way in and out
among them, so that we might be concealed from the sight of those coming
off from the shore, in case they should make chase after us.  In a short
time, however, the boat was half full of water.

"We must get this out, or we shall be sinking," I said.

There was no bailer; but I had seized my hat before I had got out of the
cabin window, and putting in our oars we bailed away as hard as we
could.  We had succeeded in partly freeing the boat of water, when we
heard the splash of oars coming from the direction of the brig.  Once
more we gave way, the water still coming in.  I very much doubted that
we should reach the frigate without having again to stop.  The boat,
however, was gaining on us.  Should she come up before we could get
under our own flag, we might lawfully be recaptured; the water was
already up to the thwarts, and the boat pulled heavily; our pursuers
were getting closer and closer.  We were nearing the frigate.

I looked round.  I saw her high sides and tall masts against the sky.

I shouted at the top of my voice, "_Liffy_ ahoy! help, help here!"

Larry shouted still louder, for he had a voice of his own when he tried
to exert it.  The boat pulled more heavily than ever.  If it had not
been for the dread of the sharks, I should have jumped overboard and
tried to swim to the frigate.  Still we made her move.  I can't say what
a leap my heart gave as we ran up against her side.  Some ropes were
hove to us, for our shouts had attracted attention, and, swirming up
them, we each reached a port in time to see our boat's gunwale flush
with the water, and our pursuers turning round to pull away.  As we got
on deck the quartermaster brought a lantern, which he held so as to
throw a light on our faces, and at the same time a midshipman ran up.

"Who have we here?" he exclaimed, and I recognised Chaffey's voice.
"What!  Paddy Finn, my boy, where in the world have you come from?"

"From a brig--a prize to the French," I answered.  "But I say, Chaffey,
I want to see the captain at once.  If there comes a breeze she'll be
slipping out of the harbour, and we must be ready to go after her."

"Why, we thought you were on board the _Soleil_, and expected she would
be put into commission, and be sent out to rejoin us, as we want small
craft to watch the movements of the French."

I briefly told him what had happened.  He in return told me what I was
sorry to hear, that nothing had been heard of the _Soleil_, though the
idea was that she had got safely into Port Royal harbour.

"The captain doesn't like to be roused up; but I suppose as your
information is of importance, he won't give me a wigging for disturbing
him," he said, as we reached the cabin door.  Mentioning his object, the
sentry stationed there allowed him to pass, and I stood for a time
outside, trying to squeeze the water out of my nether garments.  I had
formed a little pool round my feet by the time Chaffey returned.

"You're to go into the captain, Paddy," he said.  "He fired off his
great guns and small arms at me, so he'll receive you pleasantly, I
hope."

Giving a final wring to my coat tails, I made my way to the after cabin.
The captain, with night-cap on head, had just got into his breeches.

"Glad to see you safe on board, Finnahan," he said.  "Now give me the
information you have brought.  I'll hear about your adventures
afterwards."

"I have just escaped from a brig, sir, that is carrying despatches to
the French admiral at Guadaloupe, and as she may at any moment slip out
of the harbour, I thought you would like to know of it, that you may
follow and capture her as soon as she gets to a sufficient distance from
this place."

"How do you know she has despatches?" he asked.

"I heard the French officer who came on board tell the lieutenant in
command of the brig what they were, and I saw them in the drawer of the
cabin table.  I supposed that the lieutenant put them there that they
might be handy to throw overboard, should he find at any time that the
brig was likely to be recaptured."

"Then why didn't you bring them away with you?" asked the captain.  "You
made your own escape--you might easily, I should have thought, have got
hold of them."

"I felt in honour bound not to do so, sir.  I was trusted on board; but
as I had not given my word not to escape, I felt justified in getting
away when the opportunity offered."

"I consider you acted rightly," said the captain.  "A man cannot have
too nice a sense of honour; at the same time I believe you would have
gained great credit if you had brought them off.  Much may depend on our
getting hold of them.  However, we must do our best to capture the brig,
and prevent her delivering them to the French admiral.  You deserve
credit as it is for making your escape, and I'm glad you got off without
breaking your parole.  I should have regretted to find that you had done
that.  Now call Mr Saunders, and--hillo! my lad, you're dripping wet!
Go and shift into dry clothes, or rather, if you're not wanted, turn
into your hammock and get some sleep.  You have not had much of that
to-night, I conclude."

Getting a lantern from the sentry, I at once repaired to old
"Rough-and-Ready's" cabin.

"Mr Saunders," I shouted, "the captain wants to see you."  He jumped up
in a moment wide awake--a good first lieutenant always sleeps with one
eye open.

"Why, where do you come from, youngster?" he asked, as, throwing his
night-cap on the pillow, he rapidly slipped into his clothes.

I very briefly told him while he finished dressing, which took him
scarcely a minute, and he then hastened to the captain's cabin, while I
gladly went below and had my marine roused up to get me out some dry
clothes from my chest and to sling my hammock.  I inquired for Larry,
who I found had gone forward.  In a short time he came aft, having also
got into dry clothes.

"Mighty glad we've got away from the brig, Mr Terence," he said; "but
still I'm as sorrowful as a pig in a gale of wind.  The first thing the
men axed me for was my fiddle, and bedad I left it aboard the brig; so
if she gets away I'll never be after seeing it again."

"We must hope to take her," I said.  "Depend on it the captain will keep
a look-out on her movements, and we shall then recover your fiddle,
though I'm afraid we shall not get hold of the despatches."

"Is it them bundle of papers in the drawer you're speaking of?" asked
Larry.  "I was after thinking it would be as well to bring them away, in
case the captain should like to have a look at them, so I just put them
in my shirt before I slipped out of the cabin window.  I hope I won't be
called a thief for taking them.  Here they are, Mr Terence;" and he
handed me the packet which I had seen in the drawer.

I hurried aft with it to the captain.  I found him and the first
lieutenant in the cabin.

"Why, what's this?" exclaimed the captain, as I gave him the packet.

I told him that I believed it contained the despatches sent from
Port-au-Prince; and that my companion, Larry Harrigan, unknown to me,
had brought them away.

"What! and you gave him a hint to do so?" said the captain.

"No, indeed I didn't, sir," I answered firmly, though I blushed as I
then explained, that although I had spoken to Larry about them, it was
with no intention of inducing him to do what I was unwilling to do
myself.  "I had told him of them, sir," I said; "but I give you my word
of honour that I had no thought at the time of his getting hold of them.
I did meditate, I confess, throwing them overboard; but under the
circumstances I came to the conclusion that I had no right to do that,
independent of the risk of being severely dealt with by the Frenchmen,
should my act be discovered."

"Well, well, I believe you, Finnahan," said the captain in a kind tone.
"We have got them, and we must take them at once to Sir Samuel Hood.  We
need care very little about the brig now."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

OLD FRIENDS.

"Hadn't you better, sir, see what they contain?" observed Mr Saunders.
"It's just possible, too, that the commander of the brig knows their
contents, and will communicate it verbally to the French admiral, or
perhaps he may have duplicates on board."

"I don't think he has that, sir," I remarked.  "I saw the packet
delivered to the French lieutenant, and he certainly did not open it,
though I can't say whether he knows the purport of the despatches."

"It's likely enough that he does, though; and at all events we must
prevent him, if we can, from communicating with his admiral," said
Captain Macnamara.  "When he finds that you have made your escape, he'll
be eager to be off, and still more so if he discovers that the
despatches are missing.  Send a boat, Mr Saunders, at once to watch the
movements of the brig.  Heave the cable short, and be ready to sail the
moment we get a breeze."

Mr Saunders left the cabin to carry out the orders he had received.  I
hadn't yet told the captain of the way the brig was taken from me, and
of the mutiny.  I now, by his desire, gave him a detailed account of the
circumstances.

"There's no blame attached to you, Finnahan," he said; "though as far as
I can make out, the French officers didn't behave in an honourable way,
and I hope those mutinous scoundrels will get their deserts before long.
I'm sorry they are our countrymen, but I can show them no favour on
that account.  If we take the brig, every one of them will be hanged."

"I rather think, sir, that the French officers will have saved us the
trouble; for when they get on board and find what Hoolan and his mates
have been about, they won't be inclined to treat them leniently."

"I wish that we had left them ashore at Cork," observed the captain.
"We should have been better without such scoundrels.  Now, with regard
to these despatches.  I don't understand a word of French, nor does the
first lieutenant, nor any other officer in the ship except yourself,
Finnahan; still it may be necessary to act immediately on them.  I'll
open them, and you must translate their contents."

I would thankfully have excused myself; for though I could jabber French
pretty glibly, I was very little accustomed to write or translate it.
The captain got out pens and paper from his desk and, telling me to sit
down, opened the packet, and put it into my hands.  The hand-writing
greatly puzzled me, for it was not a style to which I was accustomed.  I
spelt out the words, however, as well as I could, and tried to get at
the sense.  It contained an account of the intended sailing of the
Marquis de Boullie with four thousand troops for the relief of
Guadaloupe, which was at that time being attacked by the English under
General Prescott.  There were also various directions for the guidance
of the French forces in those seas; but the most important was a plan
for the concentration of the fleet, carrying a large body of soldiers,
so that they might pounce down on Jamaica while the English squadrons
were being led away in opposite directions.  It was some time before I
arrived at the gist of the matter.

"This is important," exclaimed the captain.  "You would have rendered
essential service to the country by bringing these on board, and I must
see that Harrigan is rewarded; while the part you have played must not
be forgotten, as, though your sense of honour prevented you from taking
the packet, it is owing to your courage and determination that we have
obtained it.  However, we will talk of that by and by.  We must look
out, in the meantime, that the brig doesn't escape us; for though I have
got the information to put Sir Samuel Hood on his guard, the French may
obtain it also, and act accordingly."

While we were speaking, Mr Saunders came in to say the boat was ready,
and the cable hove short; but that, as it was still a stark calm, there
was no chance at present of the brig getting under weigh.

"You must go in the boat, Finnahan, and make sure that we watch the
right brig.  As we can't see her from the ship, we may be following the
wrong vessel," said the captain.

Though I would much rather have turned in and gone to sleep, I of course
obeyed orders.

Mr Harvey, the third lieutenant, was in charge of the boat, and as I
stepped into her, I found that Larry Harrigan formed one of the crew.
They pulled away under my directions, and soon gained sight of the brig.

"It's mighty hard that we can't jump aboard and take her," I heard Larry
say to the stroke oar, behind whom he was sitting.  "I'd be after
getting back my fiddle, at all events, if we could."

"It's agen' the law of nations," answered the man; "though I should like
to punish the rascal Hoolan for murdering poor Ben Nash and Tim Logan."

"Silence, men," said Mr Harvey; "we must not let the people on board
the brig find out that we are watching them.  They'll probably take us
for a guard-boat, but if they hear our English voices, they'll know who
we are."

We kept under the shade of one of the neighbouring vessels.  All was
quiet on board the brig.  There were no signs of her being about to trip
her anchor.  I wondered whether Dubois had put Hoolan and the rest in
irons when he discovered how they had behaved.  I could scarcely suppose
that they would have contrived to seize him and his boat's crew when
they returned on board; yet such was possible, and would have been
retributive justice on him for having taken the brig from us.  Still I
should have been very sorry indeed to hear that he and La Touche had met
with any injury.

We waited and waited, till it appeared that we were not likely to wait
to any purpose.

At last Larry, who seemed to have forgotten the order he had received to
keep silence, suddenly exclaimed--

"Couldn't we go aboard just to axe the Frenchmen to give me back my
fiddle.  That wouldn't be agen' the law of nations, would it, Mr
Terence?"

"Silence there," said Mr Harvey, scarcely able to restrain his
laughter.  "I ordered you men not to speak."

"Shure I forgot the same," said Larry in a suppressed tone.  "Och! my
fiddle, my fiddle! what will I be after doing without it!"

At length daylight dawned; and according to the orders Mr Harvey had
received, we returned on board.  As the sun rose, a light breeze began
to play over the surface of the harbour.  A look-out was sent aloft to
keep watch on the brig, while every preparation was made for heaving up
the anchor and making sail, should she be seen to get under weigh.

Dubois, knowing that Larry and I had gone aboard the frigate, must have
been aware that the captain was acquainted with the character of his
vessel, and also that she was carrying despatches.  He would certainly,
I thought, suppose that we should follow him, should he put to sea.  I
therefore scarcely fancied that he would venture out of the harbour
during daylight, but fully expected that he would wait another night, on
the chance of there being a breeze during the time to enable him to get
away.  I was therefore greatly surprised when the look-out hailed--

"The brig is loosing her topsails, and heaving up her anchor."

The breeze at this time had freshened considerably.  Scarcely had the
words been uttered than I saw, between the other vessels, the brig, with
her topsails and courses set, steering towards the narrow entrance,
through which only small or light vessels could venture.

The capstan was instantly manned; the hands were ordered aloft, and
topsails, and topgallant-sails were let fall; but before we could cant
the right way, the brig had passed us, and had already reached the
passage, when, the head-sails filling, the anchor was tripped, and being
run up to the bows, we steered for the broader and only safe channel.

What had induced Dubois to put to sea, and leave the safe shelter of the
harbour, I could not divine.  It made me suspect that he had not
discovered the loss of the despatches, and knowing the importance of
delivering them without delay, he had determined to run every risk for
that object.  He probably expected, by getting the first of the breeze,
to be a long way ahead before we could follow, trusting to the various
chances which might occur to effect his escape.  Had we been able to go
through the narrow passage, he must have known that he would to a
certainty have been caught; but our captain, from remarks I heard,
seemed to think that the brig might possibly succeed in getting off,
though he was resolved to use every exertion to overtake her, provided
we were not led out of our course, for it was of still greater
importance to get down to Barbadoes, or wherever the English admiral
might be.

During the stay of the _Liffy_ in the harbour, information had been
obtained of the movements of the French fleet, as also that they had a
large number of troops on board.  Their object was to capture as many of
our West India Islands as they could, and several had already fallen
into their hands.  Saint Christopher's, however, had hitherto held out;
Jamaica was prepared to resist to the last; and Barbadoes, our pet
island, was strongly protected by Sir Samuel Hood's fleet.

The French were, I should have said, vastly superior in numbers to the
English.  We had, however, brave and vigilant commanders, who took good
care not to let the grass grow beneath their feet.

Had Captain Macnamara been certain that Lieutenant Dubois was ignorant
of the contents of the packet Larry had carried off, he would have cared
very little about letting the brig escape.  He thought, however, that
Dubois might possibly have duplicates, or might have learned the
information they contained.

The wind freshened as we got outside.  We could now see the brig about
five or six miles away to the southward, for she had got the first of
the breeze, and had carried it along while we were getting under weigh.
All sail being made, however, we rapidly gained on her.

"It'll be a bad job for Dan Hoolan if we come up with the little hooker,
Mr Terence," said Larry.  "If the Frenchmen haven't shot him already,
our captain will be shure to run him up to the yard-arm, with the poor
fellows he decaived."

"It's what he richly deserves," I replied; "but I wish that he had never
been pressed.  It would have been better to have left him on shore, to
stand his chance of hanging, or turning honest."

"Ah, shure there's but little honesty likely to come out of Dan Hoolan,"
observed Larry, who disliked him more than ever since he had caused the
deaths of Tim Logan and Ben Nash.

The brig was steering south-east directly for Guadaloupe, and we
followed in the same direction; but as there were numerous islands in
her course, she might, if she could retain her distance ahead till dark,
escape by keeping round them, or if hard pressed, run on shore, when the
French officers would probably endeavour to forward the information they
were conveying by some other vessel.  She was, as I have said, very
fast, and she was now carrying every stitch of canvas she could set.
The _Liffy_ was no laggard, and we pressed after her.  The chase was as
exciting as it could well be.  Scarcely any of the officers left the
deck, except to take a hurried breakfast, and every glass on board was
in requisition.  Now, when the breeze freshened, we appeared to be
gaining on her; now, when it fell, she seemed to draw ahead of us.  We
passed between the islands of Saint John and Tortola; we sighted the
east end of Santa Cruz, and then made out the curious conical hill of
Saba, to the north of Saint Eustatia.  Noon had passed, and the wind
again freshening, we gained rapidly on the chase.  The look-out aloft
hailed that he saw several sail right ahead.  It was a question whether
they were English or French.  If the latter, the brig might lead us
under their guns, and it was necessary to be cautious.  Dubois must have
seen them also, but probably was as uncertain about their character as
we were.  He might, after all, be captured should he stand on.  At
length he altered his course, and appeared to be making for Saint
Eustatia, and from this it was pretty evident that he took the fleet
ahead to be English.  Whether he was right in that respect or not we
could not tell, but he made a mistake in hauling his wind.  In another
half hour we got near enough to send a shot, which fell aboard him;
another and another followed, when, letting fly his head sheets, he put
his helm to starboard, and hauled down his colours.  We at once hove-to.
A boat was lowered, and I, being able to speak French, was sent with
Mr Harvey to take possession.  We were soon alongside.  Dubois must
have recognised me when in the boat.  As we stepped on deck he and La
Touche advanced, and presented their swords to Mr Harvey, at the same
time each of them made me a very formal bow.  I returned it, and said,
as I stepped forward--

"What is the meaning of this, Monsieur Dubois?  You have made a gallant
attempt to escape.  It's the fortune of war that you have failed; but
why do you treat me as a stranger?  I wish to behave towards you as old
friends, and will do all in my power to help you."

"We do not desire the friendship of one who has been guilty of such an
act as you have committed," answered Dubois stiffly.

"What act do you speak of?"  I asked, suspecting, however, to what he
alluded.

"You were trusted.  You made your escape, and carried off the
despatches," he answered.

"I had a right to make my escape, for I had not given you my word to
remain," I said.  "I did not carry off the despatches, nor did I
instigate any one to do so.  You'll find that I speak the truth."

"I have, then, to beg your pardon," said Dubois, with French politeness,
though he looked doubtfully at me.

There was little time for conversation, however.  Mr Harvey desired the
two French officers to prepare for going on board the frigate.  "I
understand that you have some English seamen on board.  Where are they?"
he asked.

"Two of them lie there," said Dubois, "and the third, in trying to swim
on shore, was seized by a shark.  We are well rid of them, for they were
mutinous rascals."

I looked forward; there, on the deck, lay Dan Hoolan and the other
mutineer.  A shot had struck him on the chest, and nearly knocked the
upper part of his body to pieces, while it had cut his companion almost
in two, but I recognised his features, grim and stern, even in death.
One of the French seamen had also been killed, and his countrymen,
without ceremony, hove his body overboard.  Mr Harvey ordered our men
to dispose of the mutineers in the same manner, and to wash down the
deck, for the sight was not such as any of us cared to look at longer
than was necessary.  Dubois and La Touche, who had gone below to get
their valises, now returning with them, stepped into the boat, and Mr
Harvey left me in charge of the brig.  I felt somewhat elated at finding
myself on board the craft of the command of which I had been so suddenly
deprived, and began to hope that I was to retain it.  I resolved, at all
events, should any of the Frenchmen be left in her, to be careful that
they didn't again take her out of my hands.

I was sorry that I didn't know rather more about navigation, but I
thought that I could manage, by carrying on, to keep in sight of the
frigate.  I was especially thankful that we had not been compelled to
hang Dan Hoolan and the other men, for ruffians as they were, and