t their
stations, ready to perform any duty required of them; those told off to
labour at the pumps were working manfully; and thus they would have
continued till the noble ship had struck on the rocks, or gone down
beneath the waves.

Hours passed by. Slowly but certainly she drove stern on towards the
land. The captain after a time was seen to look frequently over the
side, and to watch the land more earnestly. His countenance brightened.

"There is hope for us yet," he observed to Mr Trenane; "the wind is
dropping."

Such was the case. Rapidly the gale abated, the ship no longer laboured
as before, the leak was easily kept under, the sea quickly went down,
the wind got round to the southward, and by nightfall the "Thisbe,"
under all sail, was steering a course for England.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE "CONCORDE" RECAPTURED BY THE "ATALANTE"--THE SHIPS IN A GALE--THE
"ATALANTE" WRECKED--RONALD SWIMS ASHORE--COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHED--THE
ENGLISH SHUT UP IN A TOWER.

In vain Lieutenant Calder and the prize crew of the "Concorde" attempted
to resist the onslaught of the enemy. Several were killed, others were
wounded, and they soon found themselves completely overpowered. No time
was lost in conveying them on board the ship which had captured them,
which proved to be the "Atalante," a consort of their hard-won prize.
Most of the wounded French prisoners were removed likewise, that they
might be under the care of the chief surgeon of the ship, and among them
was Alfonse Gerardin. He had somewhat recovered his strength and
spirits, and now that he found himself no longer a prisoner, he talked
away freely as well with the young Frenchmen of his own rank as with the
English midshipmen.

When the transfer of prisoners had been accomplished, the "Atalante"
took the "Concorde" in tow and made sail, but the wind increasing, the
hawser broke, and both ships had to look out for their safety
independently of each other.

In consequence of the comparatively small number of the English
prisoners they were not very strictly guarded, and the officers were
allowed to go about the decks by themselves.

The gale increased during the night, and when early in the morning
Ronald Morton went on deck, he found the French ship scudding before it
under bare poles.

There was a good deal of confusion on board; the crew were labouring at
the pumps, but in anything but an energetic manner; some would suddenly
knock off, and ha