ort of that of the other piece. The Maud
was still in the channel, and the ledge could be seen through the clear
water on the port hand; what the soundings were on the starboard hand
had not yet been demonstrated. The steamer was moving at her ordinary
speed. The Fatime had turned her head to the south; and, though she was
still nearly a mile distant, her engine gong could be heard when it rang
for the vessel to go ahead.

The pirate soon changed her course, with the apparent intention of
"cutting across lots," in order to reach the Maud. A hand was heaving
the lead, indicating that Mazagan was not sure of his soundings. She
went ahead on the new course not more than the eighth of a mile before
she came about, showing that the depth of water was not satisfactory to
her commander.

"If the tide were not rising, I should know better what to do; for we
might go back to the angle in the channel, out of the reach of the guns,
and remain there till the morning tide, and then work out into deep
water," said Captain Scott, after he had observed the movements of the
enemy for a couple of minutes. "But with two feet more water, the Fatime
can go at least up to the verge of the ledge, and that plan would not
work anyhow."

"Another gun!" cried Felix, as he caught the flash.

The enemy was a little nearer than before, but the shot fell hardly less
than half a mile from the Maud. Mazagan had "swung to" in order to fire
this shot, but resumed his course at once. Scott desired to gain some
time by leaving the channel, and heading to the south-east. Morris was
sounding with his boathook, and reported only thirteen feet when the
Maud began to move in that direction.

"Twelve feet and a half!" shouted the first officer a little later.

"This won't do," said Scott, shaking his head. "The water shoals to the
southward, and all we can do is to face the music."

"What do you mean by that, Captain?" asked Louis.

Scott made a couple of crosses on his diagram, and passed it to his
companion.

"The cross on your left is our present position near the outlet of the
channel," the captain explained. "On the port we have the ledge, and we
can't run over that. On the starboard the water is too shoal for us. We
can go neither to the right nor the left."

"Therefore you must run dead ahead."

"Precisely so, or right into the guns of the enemy."

"Couldn't you retreat up the channel again?" asked Louis; and it began
to look to him as thou