on board, but
a considerable number had made their escape to the shore, their red caps
and petticoat trousers showing that they were either Turks or Egyptians.
As the boats got close up to the ship, the people on board began to
gesticulate furiously, and it seemed with no very friendly intentions.
Of this they gave proof, for they got some smaller guns on the
quarter-deck slewed round, and began firing away at the boats.
Fortunately their gunnery was very bad, or they might have cut them to
pieces. On seeing this, Mr Thorn made a white pocket-handkerchief fast
to a boat-hook, and waved it towards them, but the barbarians seemed to
hold a flag of truce in very little respect, as they continued firing as
before. Just then, Rogers and Murray observed a young officer; he
seemed to rush up from below, and furiously attack the men with his
sword, driving them from the gun. He then leaped upon the taffrail and
waved his hand to them and shouted, but they were too far off to hear
his voice.

"Murray, Murray, who do you think that is?" shouted Jack.

"I know who it is like," answered Murray. "It is like--"

Just at that moment a terrific roar was heard. The entire vast mass of
the wreck seemed to be lifted up bodily into the air. Up, up it went.
Lurid flames and dense volumes of smoke burst forth, and then down came
the huge mass shattered into a thousand fragments; beams, and guns, and
planks, and human bodies, and the various contents of the ship all
mingled together. A cry of horror escaped from the boats' crews when
they saw what had occurred.

"Pull for your lives, my lads," shouted Mr Thorn. "Give way now."

The men, recovering from their amazement, required no second order, but
pulled away as hard as they could from the burning wreck. Happily they
were no nearer, for in an instant afterwards down came burning fragments
of the wreck, covering the sea far and wide, the terrific shower almost
swamping the boats. Although several pieces struck them, no one was
materially injured. The whole occurrence occupied not a minute of time.
The ship, however, continued burning furiously, and the guns in the
forepart of her, which appeared not to have been blown up, as the flames
reached them went rapidly off, one after other, sending their shot
whizzing away on either side.

"Some of the poor fellows may have escaped with their lives, and may be
struggling in the water. Can't we go back and try to pick them up?"
said