the stillness of the
evening, they could hear a loud hail, in Spanish:

"What ship is that? Cease rowing, or we will sink you!"

"Don't answer," Captain Lockett said. "They have nothing but the
confused sound of the oars to tell them where we are."

The hail was repeated and, a minute later, there was the flash of a
gun in the darkness, and a shot hummed through the air.

"Fire away!" the captain muttered. "You are only wasting
ammunition."

For some minutes the Spaniard continued to fire her two bow guns.
Then, after a pause, there was a crash; and twelve guns were
discharged, together.

"We are getting farther off, every minute," the captain said, "and
unless an unlucky shot should strike one of her spars, we are
safe."

The broadside was repeated four times, and then all was silent.

"We are a mile away from them now, Bob; and though, I daresay, they
can hear the sound of the oars, it must be mere guesswork as to our
position."

He went forward to the bows, and hailed the boats.

"Take it easy now, Mr. Lockett. I don't think she will fire any
more. When the men have got their wind, row on again. I shall head
her out, now. We must give her a good three miles offing, before we
stop."

The men in the four boats had been exerting themselves to their
utmost, and it was five minutes before they began rowing again. For
an hour and a half they continued their work, and then Captain
Lockett said to the second mate:

"You can go forward, and hail them to come on board. I think we
have been moving through the water about two knots an hour, so we
must be three miles seaward of him."

As soon as the men came on board, a tot of grog was served out, all
round. Then the watch below turned in.

"You won't anchor, I suppose, captain?"

"No, there is a considerable depth of water here, and a rocky
bottom. I don't want to lose another anchor, and it would take us
something like half an hour to get it up again; besides, what
current there is will drift us eastward.

"There is more of it, here, than we had inshore. I should say there
must be nearly a knot an hour, which will take us a good distance
away from those gentlemen, before morning.

"Now, Bob, you had better have a glass of grog, and then turn in.
Joe will excuse you keeping watch, tonight."

"Oh, I feel all right!" Bob said. "The water was quite warm, and I
slipped down and changed my clothes, directly they left off
firing."

"Never mind, you turn in