bled water seen through his glass that another poor
fellow had been tossed overboard by the slaver captain, for he rightly
judged that no English officer would leave the black to drown.

He was quite correct in his judgment, for though Captain Maitland had
fumed and declared that he would not give up the chance of capture for
the sake of a black, when he felt that he might seize the schooner and
put an end to the mischief she was doing probably year after year, he
had his vessel's course stayed, and waited patiently for the return of
the boat he had lowered.

The mission of this cutter was almost an exact repetition of the one in
which Mark took part, Bob Howlett having the luck to seize the second
drowning man, over whose body the boathook had slipped.

"And no wonder," growled the coxswain afterwards. "He'd got on no duds,
and I didn't want to stick the hook into his flesh."

While this was going on, the captain stamped above on one side of the
quarter-deck, the first lieutenant on the other. For they kept as far
apart as they could, and it was an understood thing amongst the junior
officers that it would be to come in for the full force of an explosion
to speak to either of them now.

"Pull, men, pull!" roared the first lieutenant through his speaking
trumpet. "Mr Russell, do you want to keep us here all night?"

"Ay, ay, sir," came back from the boat.

"What?"

"No, no, sir; I beg your pardon. We've got the man."

"Got the man!" cried the captain, angrily; "do you think we have no
glasses on board? Make haste, sir."

"Oh!"

"What's that?" cried the captain, sharply, for there had been the sound
of a sharp crack, and Mark had uttered the cry.

"What's that, sir?" cried the lieutenant in a rage; "why it's Mr
Vandean, sir, getting under my feet like a spaniel dog, and the moment I
move he yelps out, sir."

"It wasn't your foot, sir," cried Mark sharply, for his head was
stinging with pain. "You swung round your speaking trumpet, sir, and
hit me."

"Silence, sir! how dare you, sir? You should get out of the way, sir,"
roared the first lieutenant.

"That will do, Staples," said the captain, calming down now. "Now, men,
up with that boat."

The cutter was already swinging from the davits, while at a turn of the
wheel the _Nautilus_ began to forge through the water again, and the men
stood ready for another shot at the flying schooner.

Just then the cutter's crew lifted out the black they had