Spaniards, a man
sprang from behind a curtain and aimed a heavy blow with his sword at
Roger, who was foremost, cutting him down.

With a faint groan Roger fell, and Harry stumbled over his body, thus
enabling the Spaniard to effect his escape.

Half-stunned from the force of his fall, Harry raised himself and bent
over Roger.

"Roger, Roger," he exclaimed, "are you much hurt? Speak to me, lad."

But Roger made no reply, lying perfectly still, with a stream of red
slowly spreading from under his head and staining the white planking.
Suddenly, from above sounded a harsh cry.

"Back, back, every man of you, and cut the ships adrift; the Spaniards
are firing the magazines; back, for your lives!" Loud and imperative
rang out the voice of Cavendish. "Quick, lads, for your lives, or we
shall be all blown up together!"

"Roger, Roger, wake, lad," cried Harry; "the ship has been set on fire,
and will blow up directly. Heavens, what can I do?"

But Roger never stirred; so, as there was nothing else to be done, Harry
took his body under the arms and began to drag him along toward the
nearest hatchway.

At this moment the broadsides of the English again rang out, showing
that the other three Spaniards were drawing up, and were within gunshot.

Meanwhile, on board the Spanish ship no sound was to be heard save the
roar and crackle of the flames, as Harry, putting out all his strength,
lifted the inanimate body of his friend to his shoulder, and plunged
along the passage through the blinding and suffocating smoke.

He was dashing forward, holding his breath as much as possible, with his
eyes smarting with smoke, and feeling as though they would burst from
their sockets, when he crashed up against some obstacle, dropping the
body of Roger from the force of the contact. A puff of fresh air now
blew the smoke aside for a moment, and Harry saw what was the cause of
his stoppage. His way was blocked by a stout oaken door, that had
evidently been closed by some seaman when he retreated upon hearing the
alarm that the magazine was in danger of being fired.

Harry dragged frantically at the handle and turned it wildly, but in
vain; the door was secured on the other side by some kind of spring
latch, and escape seemed impossible.

The smoke meanwhile was momentarily becoming more and more dense, and it
was now an agony to breathe, while every second of delay meant awful
danger; and Roger seemed to be rapidly bleeding to