above the deck and, by their
light, Bob could at once see that he was on board a ship of war.
Groups of sailors were sitting on the deck, among the guns; and he
saw that most of these were run in, and that they were of heavy
calibre, several of them being 32-pounders.

As the captain and Joe had both agreed that the guns were only
14-pounders, Bob had no difficulty in arriving at the fact that
these must have been mere dummies, thrust out of the portholes to
deceive any stranger as to her armament. He lay listening, for some
time, to the talk of the sailors; and gathered that the ship had
been purposely disguised, before putting out from Malaga, in order
to deceive any English privateers she might come across as to her
strength. He learned also that considerable doubts were
entertained, as to the brig; and that the xebec and polacre had
been signalled to go on ahead, so as to induce the brig--if she
should be an enemy--to make an attack.

The reason why she had not been overhauled, during the day, was
that the captain feared she might escape him in a light wind; for
the watch had been vigilant, and had made out that she was towing
something, to deaden her way. It was considered likely that, taking
the ship for a merchantman, an attack would be made in boats during
the night; and the men joked as to the surprise their assailants
would get. Boarding pikes were piled in readiness; shot had been
placed in the racks, ready to throw down into the boats as they
came alongside; and the ship's boats had been swung out, in
readiness for lowering--as it was intended to carry the brig, by
boarding, after the repulse and destruction of her boats.

"We have had a narrow escape of catching a tartar," Bob said, to
himself. "It is very lucky I came on board to reconnoitre. The
Spaniards are not such duffers as we thought them. We fancied we
were taking them in, and very nearly fell into a trap, ourselves."

Very quietly he crawled back under the porthole, made his way along
outside the bulwark until his hand touched the rope, and then slid
down by it into the water. As he knew there was more chance of a
sharp watch being kept, in the eyes of the ship, than elsewhere, he
swam straight out from her side until she became indistinct, and
then headed for the brig. The lights on board the Spaniard served
as a guide to him, for some time; but the distance seemed longer to
him than it had before, and he was beginning to fancy he must have