too much
on our hands. Out boats, men! as fast as you can, and let every man
provide himself with arms and ammunition. Be cool! the schooner is
fixed hard enough, and will not go down; we shall save everything
by-and-by."

The pirates obeyed the orders of the captain. The three boats were
hoisted out and lowered down. In the first were placed all the wounded
men and Clara d'Alfarez, who was assisted up by Francisco. As soon as
the men had provided themselves with arms, Francisco, to protect Clara,
offered to take charge of her, and the boat shoved off.

The men-of-war had seen the _Avenger_ strike on the rocks, and the
preparations of the crew to take to their boats. They immediately hove
to, hoisted out and manned their own boats, with the hopes of cutting
them off before they could gain the island and prepare for a vigorous
defence; for, although the vessels could not approach the reefs, there
was sufficient water in many places for the boats to pass over them.
Shortly after Francisco, in the first boat, had shoved off from the
_Avenger_, the boats of the men-of-war were darting through the surf to
intercept them. The pirates perceived this, and hastened their
arrangements; a second boat soon left her, and into that Hawkhurst
leaped as it was shoving off. Cain remained on board, going round the
lower decks to ascertain if any of the wounded men were left; he then
quitted the schooner in the last boat and followed the others, being
about a quarter of a mile astern of the second, in which Hawkhurst had
secured his place.

At the time that Cain quitted the schooner, it was difficult to say
whether the men-of-war's boats would succeed in intercepting any of the
pirate's boats. Both parties exerted themselves to their utmost; and
when the first boat, with Francisco and Clara, landed, the headmost of
the assailants was not much more than half a mile from them; but,
shallow water intervening, there was a delay, which was favourable to
the pirate. Hawkhurst landed in his boat as the launch of the _Comus_
fired her eighteen-pound carronade. The last boat was yet two hundred
yards from the beach, when another shot from the _Comus's_ launch, which
had been unable hitherto to find a passage through the reef, struck her
on the counter, and she filled and went down.

"He is gone!" exclaimed Francisco, who had led Clara to a cave, and
stood at the mouth of it to protect her: "they have sunk his boat--no,
he is swimmi