rcuit, hoping thus to escape unobserved to the shore. It
occurred to Terence that this was what very likely one of them would do,
and thus before long he caught sight of the man's head, as he swam
rapidly through the water. "The fellow swims beautifully," thought
Terence, "I'll let him enjoy himself a little longer." The noise made
on board the other boats deceived the Chinaman. He fancied that he was
not pursued. "We must catch him now," thought Terence, after an
interval, and he made a sign to his men to give way, when a loud shriek
was heard, the pirate's arms were seen to rise up above his head, and
then down he went, like a shot, beneath the waves. Terence shuddered.
"Jack shark has caught him," observed one of the crew, and as they
pulled over the spot they could see the water still bubbling and
agitated, as if some violent struggle was going on beneath its surface.
Then all was quiet. The monster had dragged off his prey to be devoured
at his leisure.

"I'm heartily glad it was not Jack Rogers," said Terence, as on pulling
back he recounted what had occurred.

"Thank you," answered Jack. "It was certainly a terrific risk I ran;
but as the fellow had escaped through my negligence, I was determined to
catch him at all costs."

How the pirates had managed to conceal their creeses was a wonder which
no one could solve, though the seamen declared that they believed they
had kept them hid away inside their throats, for they could not have had
them anywhere else. After all the noise that had been made there was
little hope of concealment, so Mr Cherry ordered the squadron of boats
to pull out of the bay and to proceed farther along the shore to the
eastward.

Scarcely had they got round the rocky point which had concealed them
than they saw right before them a dozen or more dark objects, which,
after watching for some time, they made out to be as many large
row-boats. They hoped that they were not perceived; so Mr Cherry
ordered them to pull back under the shadow of the cliff. On came the
boats. It was pretty certain that they were pirates, and that by some
means having discovered they were there, their purpose was to surprise
them. The guns in the bows of the boats were loaded, as were the
muskets which each man had by his side, and the oars were kept out, so
that at a moment's notice they might give way after the enemy. As Paddy
remarked, "They looked like four huge centipedes ready to dart out on
t