to depend on, and with a strong crew they could send her along at a
great rate. She was commanded on the present occasion by the second
lieutenant of the _Sea Hawk_--at least by the officer who performed the
duties of one--who had hurried on board with as many men as he could
find, and swept out to sea the moment the alarm of the prisoners' escape
was given; and now, somewhat mistaking the character of British seamen,
he had begun to edge up towards the boats, purposely to take them by
surprise, and hoping to make them an easy prey.

Of most of this Tompion was soon aware, and it now became a question as
to the advisability of attacking her instead.

"What does Mr Linton say?" asked Duff. "We should not take long about
it, I think, and she would be something to show for our night's work."

"Tell Mr Linton how things stand, Jennings, and ask him what he wishes
us to do," said Tompion to the coxswain of the gig.

"Poor Mr Linton can say nothing, sir," returned Jennings, in a
sorrowful tone. "I'm afraid he'll never speak again."

An exclamation of grief escaped from all who heard the words.

"What! is he dead?" inquired Tompion, in a voice which showed that he
participated in the feeling of the crews, although he might very
probably benefit by the vacancy thus created; yet, I will venture to
say, the thought of this did not enter his head.

"No, sir, not dead, I hope," said the coxswain. "I have bound up his
wound as well as I can, and stopped the bleeding; but he's in a dead
faint, and I don't know if he'll come to again."

"Well, Duff, I should like to act as Mr Linton would have done, and I'm
sure he would have attacked the mistico without giving two thoughts
about it," observed Tompion; "but then, again, for his sake, we ought to
get back to the ship as fast as we can, to obtain surgical assistance
for him."

"I know how you feel, Tompion," exclaimed Jemmy Duff--"but I have it:
our two boats can easily tackle the rascally mistico, and let the gig
pull back to the brig as fast as she can, with Mr Linton and Timmins
here, who is badly hurt, and let them tell Saltwell of our whereabouts,
and we shall fall in with her before the morning with a prize in tow, I
hope."

"Capital!" exclaimed Tompion, who was, for a wonder, not above taking
advice from a junior, when it happened to be good, and coincided with
his own opinion. "What say you, my lads--do you think you've got
strength enough in your arms to punish