story, shaking his head occasionally as
he thought the matter over. At length, however, he looked up, and said:

"It is a sad business, very sad, losing all those poor fellows, but I do
not blame you, boy, in the least; you did what you could, and did it
very well, too! To fight and beat off so immensely superior a force as
that of the pirates was a very creditable feat, I consider; and all
might have been well had it not been for that gale springing up at so
inopportune a moment. Well, well, it cannot be helped; these things
happen sometimes, in spite of all that we can do. But there is
generally a lesson to be learned from every mishap, if we will but look
for it, and the lesson conveyed in this case is that we made a mistake
in the arming of the _Wasp_. Instead of fitting her with those six long
9-pounders, we ought to have mounted a long 18 and a long 32 upon her
deck, then you would have been able to play a game of long bowls with
the pirates and fight them upon practically equal terms. As it was, you
were badly peppered before you could reach her at all with your own
guns. Well, it cannot now be helped; the little hooker is gone, and
there's an end of it. Now, the thing to consider is what is next to be
done. What is your own idea? You have been among the rascals, and know
their strength; I suppose you have some sort of a notion of how they can
best be circumvented, eh?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "It seems to me that there are two ways of dealing
with the pirates. One way is, to waylay their schooner at sea, capture
her, and then go into the Cove and destroy the settlement. To do that
effectively we must have a vessel as fast, as heavily armed, and as
strongly manned as their own craft--"

"Which we don't happen to possess just now, worse luck!" cut in the
Admiral. "What is your other plan?"

I explained the alternative scheme--which I regarded as the more
effective of the two--in pretty full detail; and as I unfolded it I saw
the old gentleman's eyes begin to sparkle. When at length I came to an
end he dashed his fist down upon the table, and exclaimed with
enthusiasm:

"That's the plan, boy; that ought to do the trick! But I've no vessel
to spare you, so you'll have to take the felucca, and do the best you
can with her. Strictly speaking, you know, I ought to put you under
arrest, and not employ you again until after you have been tried for the
loss of the _Wasp_; but the circumstances are such