the men will be
ready enough to second us."

Fairburn shook his head. "I fear not," he said. "But here he comes
again, with some Dutch courage in him, I suspect."

The captain paced the deck all night in great anxiety; and I certainly
do not think he could have used better means than he did to get away
from the enemy. We knew that they must have been in force, and that
they felt sure of being able to overcome a vessel of our size, which
they were well able to distinguish to be only a merchantman. I cannot
say that I felt afraid of the result, though I did not shut my eyes to
it; but my hope of escaping was the strongest feeling.

The breeze rather freshened than fell as the morning came on; and as the
brig had every stitch of canvas she could carry set on her, she went
through the water far more rapidly than was her custom. The night was
bright and clear, the stars shone forth from the sky with a brilliancy
unknown in the northern latitudes, and ever and anon flashes of light
burst from the ocean, and, as the ship ploughed her onward way, she left
a golden thread in her wake. I could scarcely persuade myself that we
were in any danger, or that we were no longer pursuing our voyage in the
direction we wished to go.

The ladies remained below, trembling with fear; for the captain, for the
sake of having some one more alarmed than himself, had taken care to
tell them that a whole fleet of pirates were rowing as fast as they
could after us. Little Maria Van Deck was the only one who behaved
heroically. When I went below, I found her in the cabin, offering up
prayers to Him who had power to protect us. I watched her as she knelt,
the lights from the cabin-lamp falling on her upturned childish
countenance. She was too much absorbed to observe me. At length she
rose from her knees. She smiled when I spoke to her, and thanked her
for setting so good an example.

"Oh, I have no fear," she answered; "God is good, and will not allow us
to be injured."

Reminded of my duty by the little girl, I also knelt and prayed
earnestly for our safety. Returning on deck, I waited till the rising
sun should show us the position of our enemies, or assure us that we
were beyond their reach. The first mate went aloft with the glass in
his hand directly the first faint streak of day appeared in the sky, to
look-out for the prahus the moment the rays of the sun, striking on
their sails, should enable him to see them. The capta