d his coat and hat, and positively
entered the boat bareheaded, in his shirt sleeves, and armed with a
cutlass.

"Nobody will see me," he said to Jack.

"I'll be bound they'll feel you," laughed the captain of marines.

This was as pretty a cutting-out action as ever I have heard of.

Feeling sure of their safety, the Frenchmen were careless in their
watch. The officers were wining and playing cards down below, when
suddenly there was a shout, and a rattle and bump and rush. Hardly had
the bugle, that awakened echoes from the walls of the fort, sung out to
summon the crew to repel boarders, ere our fine fellows were on board.
Stern was the resistance made, however, to the British tars. Big
M'Hearty had boarded on the port-bow, and came flailing away aft. He
knew nothing of sword-exercise, but simply grasped the cutlass, a huge
one, by both hands, and hammered away in old Highland fashion. But a
Frenchman fell at every blow.

Murray fought like a little lion, but was knocked under a gun, and lay
like a dead thing till all the fight was over, and long after.

Yes, they were victorious.

"Better go back to your cards and wine," shouted M'Hearty, as he drove
the last officer down below.

Meanwhile, will it be believed, the fort opened fire on their own brig.

Tom caused every light at once to be extinguished. Then sail was set,
and though the brig was struck over and over with round shot, again they
managed to cut her out. As she got fairly under way, our fellows
returned a cheer of defiance to the fort, and just one gun was fired by
way of farewell.

The capture had not been without mishap. Two of our men were killed
outright, and about ten, including Murray, were wounded.

At first it was thought the sprightly young officer was dead, but soon
after being carried on board his own ship, he opened his eyes, stared
wildly around him for a few moments, then sank again into insensibility.
He had been merely stunned.

This made the third time Murray had come to grief in action.

"It was always the same," he said, "even when I was a little fellow; I
never could fight without getting a bad black eye. Just my luck."

The brig was manned by a prize crew, half the Froggies, as our Jacks
carelessly called them, being taken on board the man-o'-war. These were
started for England a day or two afterwards, in a gun-brig of ours which
was fallen in with homeward bound.

The _Ferdinand_ was sent home, a midshipman being in