looked at him piteously, and Bob laid his hand upon his arm.

"All right, old chap," he said, huskily; "I won't tease you. I feel so
jolly to see you open your eyes again, that it made me play the fool."

Bob choked a little, and said it was because he felt dry. A possible
thing, but his eyes looked wet. Then he went on hastily--"Well, it was
like this, old chap; as soon as we'd dropped you first cutters, we
cracked on after the schooner again as hard as we could go, with
Maitland and old Staples, one on each side of the deck, barking and
snapping at the lads because we couldn't get more out of the old girl.
We went pretty fast, though; and knowing that the Yank would try it on
again, old Ramsey had to pipe himself and the crew ready for the second
cutter. Sure enough, there was the same game tried again, and the
second cutter was dropped, with old Ram in command, and we left him,
too, to pick up the black thrown overboard, while we raced on again,
getting close enough to send shot after shot through the schooner's
rigging; but she seemed to be a Flying Dutchman sort of a craft, for we
never once hit a spar."

"But you've taken her, Bob?"

"You just lie still and hold your tongue, will you? If you can tell the
story better than I can, you don't want me to speak."

"I'll be patient and not say a word," said Mark, humbly.

"Hit a spar," continued Bob; "and there is no mistake about the way that
Yankee skipper can sail his craft, for he dodged and turned, and kept
throwing us off in the most cunning way, trying to show us a clean pair
of heels, and over and over again he distanced us. But Maitland and old
Staples grew madder and madder, trying all they knew to crowd on sail
till once more we got near, and then down went another of the poor
blacks. Old Staples regularly jumped off the deck in his rage, for we
were obliged to drop the captain's gig this time to pick up the poor
wretch--leastwise, try to, for they didn't get him, and as we couldn't
spare any more hands we had to wait for the gig to come aboard again.

"That gave old Stars and Stripes a chance to get ever so far-away, and I
tell you it wasn't safe to go near the skipper. Ah! we may well call
him that. He made some of 'em skip, I can tell you, that day.

"`I'll sink her,' I heard him say, `I'll sink her,' and I expected to
hear him order the guns to be depressed next time we got near enough for
a shot."

"But he didn't do that," said Mark exc