did not want it, when the
landlord of a little hotel in town, who happened to be on the beach,
made a proposition to give a supper that night if he was given
Boyton's share. The unexpected offer was quickly accepted and sure
enough, that night a magnificent spread was laid with the octopus
served as the principal dish. It was sometime before Paul could be
persuaded to taste it, and then he found it to be the most
delightful fish he had ever eaten--delicate of flavor and flesh of a
slightly viscous nature. The native fishermen look upon them as a
rare luxury and always have a feast when one is caught.

Notwithstanding the very poor appliances possessed by Peru, two Chilean
men-of-war were blown up during the struggle, by very clever tricks.
They were the Loa and the Covodonga. As has been previously stated, it
was the custom of the Chilean blockaders to pick up anchor and cruise
slowly up and down the coast during the night, to keep out of the way of
torpedoes. One foggy morning as the Loa was crawling back to her
moorings after her customary night's cruise, her lookout discovered a
small sloop containing a crew of four men, who appeared to be in a great
state of alarm. One was up on the mast endeavoring to repair the peak
halyards that were hanging down as though having been disabled. A gun
was immediately turned on the boat by the Chilean and a shot fired over
it. At that the sailor hastily descended from the mast and the four
men hurriedly jumped into a light gig and began pulling with powerful
strokes for the mainland. A boat was also lowered from the man-of-war
and chase given, while shot after shot was sent after the fugitives. The
man-of-war's boat had no chance of overhauling the quicker and
lighter Peruvian gig and when the Chileans reached the sloop, they
abandoned the chase. On discovering the prize they had taken, cheer
after cheer rang over the sea. The sloop was loaded down with baskets of
fruit, crates of chickens, vegetables, in fact the very things the
Chileans mostly needed. A line was quickly fastened to the prize and
she was towed alongside the Loa, and the entire crew joined the captors
in cheering when they saw the good things. All hands went to the side
of the vessel to look at the lucky find. It was short work to begin
sending the cargo up. Almost everything had been passed aboard when the
sailors took up what seemed to be a heavy crate of vegetables. The