aces.
Tompion had been narrowly watching her movements; he had from the first
suspected some ruse to be played off on him.

"Ah! she has put her helm to port, and is running in for the land
again!" he exclaimed. "Keep a little more to the eastward, Duff, and
try to out her off; we may have her yet, before she gets into port."

The mistico had had quite enough to say, it seemed, to the British
boats; and was now endeavouring to get safe into the harbour, and very
probably to try and tempt them to follow her, if they had not already
had sufficient warning of what they might expect if they did so.

On they all three went in the same direction, the mistico by her change
of course being thrown somewhat nearer to her pursuers than she before
was, but they otherwise gained little, if anything, on her. The cutter
perseveringly kept up her fire as fast as the gun could be cleaned and
loaded, and the mistico more slowly returned it, the small sheets of
flame which ever and anon issued from the mouths of the pieces showing
their position to those on shore, as they drew near.

Still Tompion did not like to abandon the pursuit--they had already
expended so much exertion and time, that he felt as if it would be
throwing it all uselessly away if they were, after all, to fail; and yet
he began to see that they had already gone far enough, and that, if he
persisted in the chase, he might incur a greater disaster than had yet
happened to them. He looked up at the cliffs, and tried to persuade
himself that they were still at some distance off. They certainly
looked very dark and lofty; but as there was no firing from them, he
thought that they must be still too far off for any shot to reach them.
The crew of the mistico, now that they felt pretty certain of not being
captured, cheered and laughed, and called out to them, using every
device to enrage them, and induce them to follow.

"We must soon be about ship, Duff!" Tompion sang out from his boat;
"and I am afraid, after all, we have done little good."

"If you will go on a little longer, perhaps the wind may shift, and we
shall have her becalmed under the cliffs," replied the midshipman. "It
would be a great thing to carry her off in sight of the enemy."

Tompion was too ready to follow his messmate's advice, so they
persevered in the chase with great gallantry, but certainly with a want
of discretion, though it must be borne in mind that they had now less
danger to appreh