ight be expected, as a fresh bond between
the boys; and as it also secured for Ned the cordial goodwill of
the sailors, they were, in future, free from any persecution at the
hands of Master Taunton, or of his fellows.

Chapter 4: An Unsuccessful Attack.

It should have been said, in its proper place, that upon the day
after the arrival of the Pacha and Swanne in Pheasant Bay, a barque
named the Isle of Wight, commanded by James Rause, with thirty men
on board, many of whom had sailed with Captain Drake upon his
previous voyages, came into the port; and there was great greeting
between the crews of the various ships. Captain Rause brought with
him a Spanish caravel, captured the day before; and a shallop also,
which he had taken at Cape Blanco. This was a welcome reinforcement,
for the crews of the two ships were but small for the purpose which
they had in hand, especially as it would be necessary to leave a
party to take charge of the vessels. Captain Drake made some proposals
to Captain Rause, which the latter accepted, and it was arranged that
he and his crew would be, for a time, under the command of Captain Drake.

When the division of the crews was made, it was decided that James
Rause should remain in command of the four ships at Pheasant Bay;
and that Captain Drake, with fifty-three of his own men and twenty
of Rause's, should start in the three pinnaces and the shallop for
Nombre de Dios.

The first point at which they stopped was the Isle of Pines, on the
22nd July. Here they put in to water the boats and, as the crews
had been cramped from their stay therein, Captain Drake decided to
give them a day on shore. Ned and Reuben Gale were of the party,
the other two being, to their great discontent, left behind in the
ship.

After the barriques had been filled with water, the fires lit for
cooking, and the labors of the day over, Ned and Reuben started for
a ramble in the island, which was of a goodly extent. When they had
proceeded some distance in the wood, picking fruit as they went,
and looking at the butterflies and bright birds, they were suddenly
seized and thrown upon the ground by some men, who sprang out from
the underwood through which they had passed. They were too
surprised at this sudden attack to utter even a cry; and, being
safely gagged and bound, they were lifted by their captors, and
carried away into the interior of the island.

After an hour's passage they were put down in th