he
difficulty was to secure the prisoners, they having been driven into the
main-hold of the _Gamo_. The ladders were removed, and guns were
pointed down on them, a man being stationed with a lighted match, ready
at any moment to fire among them should they attempt to retake the ship.
Meantime sail was made on the prize, and she stood away from the shore
just as a number of gunboats were seen coming out of Barcelona, which,
had they acted with any degree of spirit, might have captured the
_Speedy_, or compelled her to relinquish her prize.

"I wish I had been with him," exclaimed Mudge; "but I was not, for the
best of reasons--I was still in the nursery, and had not thought of
going to sea."

We all said the same, though none of the rest of us happened to have
been born at that time, as it was just the beginning of the century.
Poor Mudge--and there were many officers at that time, like him, old
enough to be post-captains, who were still master's mates--often sighed
as he talked of the events of former days, and I have seen him more than
once brushing away a tear as he spoke of his disappointed hopes and
blighted prospects.

Day after day we pulled on, each day looking more eagerly than ever for
land or for a ship. Our food was rapidly diminishing; and we had barely
sufficient water to give us a wine-glassful apiece for two more days.
Still, what might not happen in that time? Mudge urged us to keep up
our spirits and pull on. Tommy grumbled a little now and then, and
expressed a wish that he had never come to sea; but neither Harry nor
Popo uttered the slightest complaint. When it was their turn to row,
they pulled away with all their might; when they knocked off, they
generally lay down in the bottom of the boat and went to sleep. The day
was the most trying period, when the sun beat down on our unprotected
heads. Even with an ample supply of food and water we should have found
it trying; as it was, we suffered doubly. But then came the cool
refreshing night and an unbroken sleep of two hours, when we all
revived, and felt much better in the morning.

With a feeling which I cannot well describe, we at length emptied our
last nut-shell of the salt, strong-tasting liquid it contained.

"I trust we shall make the land before many hours are over, lads," said
Mudge, in as cheerful a tone as he could command; "or maybe we shall
fall in with some craft or other. I should prefer the latter, provided
she happens