side he would sit patiently for hours together; or else
he was holding secret confabulations with Dan Connor and Tim Maloney.
Although Owen had been greatly weakened by loss of blood, it saved him
from fever, and his wound, which was not deep, rapidly healed. Of this,
however, Gerald advised Norah not to tell the lieutenant. The other
wounded and pick men continued in their berths, apparently making no
progress towards recovery; so that, of the original crew of the _Ouzel
Galley_, there were only five hands besides Gerald and Tim fit for duty.
These, of course, the Frenchmen, with their officer, considered that
they were perfectly able to keep in order. The weather, which had
hitherto been especially favourable, now greatly changed for the worse;
a strong north-easterly gale springing up threatened to blow the _Ouzel
Galley_ far away to the westward. Lieutenant Vinoy was in despair; he
had been anticipating the pleasure of carrying his prize into Boulogne,
the port to which Captain Thurot had ordered him to take her, in the
course of two or three days--and now she might be kept out for a week,
or three weeks for that matter, and the risk of being recaptured greatly
increased. Still he did his best to hold his ground, keeping the ship
close-hauled, now on one tack, now on the other; while either he or his
mate, Jacques Busson, were ever on deck ready to take advantage of any
change of wind.

"I shall sleep soundly when this vile wind from the eastward has ceased
to blow," exclaimed the lieutenant one day, on coming down to dinner.

"I hope you will," said Gerald, looking him boldly in the face. "You
deserve some rest after keeping watch and watch so long."

"Gerald," said Norah, when they were together in the cabin, the captain
being on deck, "I suspect that you are thinking of attempting to recover
the vessel, and that our father has not been told what you intend to
do."

"Why should you suppose so?" asked Gerald.

"Because I see you constantly talking to the men in a way you never used
to do, and because you avoid the French lieutenant and speak to him in
so strange a manner," answered Norah.

"I won't deny that I have a plan in my head; but you are to know nothing
about it till it has succeeded," replied Gerald. "One thing I'll tell
you, that I'm very sure it can't fail of success if all hands are true
to each other--and, Norah, don't be alarmed if you hear that two or
three more of our people are down w