had left a few
miles along the shore on the port bow. The idea that they might get
into some bay or inlet, and remain, there till the weather moderated,
was a considerable consolation. Still, pull as hard as they could, they
could not make their heavy boat go ahead, but rather found themselves
drifting farther off the shore. The great thing, however, was to keep
the boat afloat. Hour after hour thus passed away, till at last the
wind began to fall and the sea quickly went down; and, instead of making
for the shore, it was proposed putting the boat about and continuing
their course. The captain was looking out for a lull to do this, when
an exclamation from his lips made everybody turn their eyes in the
direction towards which he pointed, the port they had left, where
several large junks were seen rounding the headland which formed its
side on the west. They all anxiously watched the junks; they were
steering to the north-west.

"They are in pursuit of us," observed Jack.

"Little doubt about it, I guess," said Captain Willock.

"Can we not escape them?" said Murray.

"By lying quietly down at the bottom of the boat we might," said the
captain. "We'll wait, though, till they come near."

The junks advanced, and from their appearance it seemed too probable
that they were the very fleet of pirates which had entered the harbour
the previous evening, and that, having been victorious, they were again
sailing in search of fresh plunder.

"We had a narrow escape, then," observed Jack. "If we had remained, we
should, long before this, have been food for the sharks in the bay."

"I guess that we shall be lucky if we are not down the throats of some
of them before night," pleasantly observed Captain Willock.

Madame Dubois did not understand him, or it would have set her off
screaming again. She willingly enough lay down in the bottom of the
boat, and Jack in his choicest French begged she would keep quiet; her
daughter followed her example; and as the sea had gone down, the oars
were laid in, and the rest of the party placed themselves under the
thwarts out of sight. As, however, the junks were steering almost
directly for them, they had little expectation of escaping notice. Jack
had great difficulty, he confessed, in refraining from jumping up every
instant to watch the progress of the junks.

"What do you say, Alick?" he exclaimed, suddenly. "Suppose we arm
ourselves with the boat's stretchers, and the m