ersuaded them to
remain where they were, for a visit of so large a party would not fail
to be discovered by the French, and greatly increase the annoyances of
our position. We, however, paid our second visit to the passengers of
the Indiaman, and found them on shore at the place where we had first
met them. Their spirits, however, had already begun to flag; their
guards had been less courteous than at first, sickness had attacked two
or three, gloomy apprehensions were troubling the minds of many. Still
we had a pleasant dinner, and the song and the jest went round as
before. The two midshipmen were the merriest of the party, and paid, as
may be supposed, the most devoted attention to the two young ladies whom
they thought fit to admire. Their happiness was, however, disagreeably
interrupted by the appearance in our midst of half-a-dozen armed
Frenchmen. They nodded familiarly at us. "Bien, messieurs; you have
saved us the trouble of going to fetch you," said one of them, in a
sarcastic tone. "You will not leave this, but as you are seamen, you
will accompany us to the prison ship."

We soon found that they had been made acquainted by the seamen of the
_Kangaroo_ of our being on the island, and had only waited for leisure
to go and bring us to the settlement. Another party had already been
dispatched to bring in the emigrants, and from the rough unmannerly way
in which these treated our new friends, we could not but feel the
gravest apprehensions as to the indignities to which they might be
subjected. Our own existence in the hands of lawless ruffians would be
very different from what it had hitherto been. The appearance of these
unwelcome visitors completely broke up the picnic party, and while our
friends returned to their ship, we were marched off towards one of the
hulks. We soon had evidence of the bad disposition of our captors
towards us, for Toby Trundle, who was very indignant at being thus
caught, beginning to saunter along as if he had no intention of hurrying
himself to please them, one of them threatened to give him a prog with
his bayonet. As we were walking along as slowly as Trundle could
contrive to go, the sound of a shot reached our ears. It came from the
sea. Our guards started and talked rapidly to each other. Several
other shots followed in succession, some close together.

"There are two at it, of that I am sure," exclaimed O'Carroll.

The Frenchmen continued their gesticulations