ck away a spar or two,
with her crew of not less than a hundred and twenty men, I'll warrant
she'll speedily repair her damages; and as she carries heavy metal, if I
mistake not, her first broadside will send us to the bottom."

The captain made no reply. "Gerald," he said, "take your sister down to
the hold--Dan Connor and Tim will arrange a secure place for her, and I
put her under your charge--remember, you're to remain with her, and not
to return on deck till I send for you."

Gerald looked very much disappointed, but he well knew that it would be
vain to expostulate. He had fully expected to engage in the fight, or
to "take part in the fun," as he called it. Norah had before this gone
into the cabin, to which Gerald repaired, and with no very good grace
delivered their father's orders. Without a murmur Norah prepared to
obey them. The second mate and some of the men were engaged in dragging
one of the guns aft. As she came on deck, Norah found her father
standing near the companion-hatch. Embracing her, he kissed her brow
and said, "Don't be alarmed, my child; we shall manage to escape the
Frenchman, I hope, and come off without damage. Go into your nest, now,
with Gerald, and I hope before long I shall have a good report to give
you."

As she went forwards towards the main hatchway she glanced at Owen; he
sprang to her side and without stopping to ask leave assisted her below.
It was a dreary place which had been prepared for her among
sugar-hogsheads, rum casks, and packages of other West India produce.
Dan Connor, who had been till that moment busy in arranging it, appeared
with a lantern to light them the latter part of the way. Norah looked
with no little dismay at the dark recess in which she and Gerald were to
pass the period of the impending action.

"Shure, Miss Norah, you'll find it more aisy and pleasant than you think
for," said Dan, who observed the expression of her countenance, "when
the lantern's hung up, as I'll be doing to give you light; and I'd make
bold to say that if you'd brought a book to read, or just some work to
amuse yourself, you'd be after finding the time pass pleasantly enough
away."

Norah, as may be imagined, felt little disposed to read or work, or to
fancy that the time could pass pleasantly. She almost smiled at the
idea. It appeared to her that it would be the most dreadful period of
her existence. On entering, however, she found that Dan had arranged a
seat w