ck looked, and perceived that the tent on shore was in flames.

"I tink these cold nights cool their courage any how," observed
Mesty--"Massa Easy, you see they soon ask permission to come on board."

Jack thought so too, and was most anxious to be off, for, on looking
into the lockers in the state-room, he had found a chart of the
Mediterranean, which he had studied very attentively--he had found out
the rock of Gibraltar, and had traced the _Harpy's_ course up to Cape de
Gatte, and thence to Tarragona--and, after a while, had summoned Mesty
to a cabinet council.

"See, Mesty," said Jack, "I begin to make it out; here is Gibraltar, and
Cape de Gatte, and Tarragona--it was hereabout we were when we took the
ship, and, if you recollect, we had passed Cape de Gatte two days before
we were blown off from the land, so that we had gone about twelve
inches, and had only four more to go."

"Yes, Massa Easy, I see all dat."

"Well, then, we were blown off shore by the wind, and must of course
have come down this way; and here you see are three little islands,
called Zaffarine Islands, and with no names of towns upon them, and
therefore uninhabited; and you see they lie just like the islands we are
anchored among now--we must be at the Zaffarine Islands--and only six
inches from Gibraltar."

"I see, Massa Easy, dat all right--but six debbelish long inches."

"Now, Mesty, you know the compass on the deck has a flourishing thing
for the north point--and here is a compass with a north point also. Now
the north point from the Zaffarine Islands leads out to the Spanish
coast again, and Gibraltar lies five or six points of the compass to
this side of it--if we steer that way we shall get to Gibraltar."

"All right, Massa Easy," replied Mesty; and Jack was right, with the
exception of the variation, which he knew nothing about.

To make sure, Jack brought one of the compasses down from deck, and
compared them. He then lifted off the glass, counted the points of the
compass to the westward, and marked the corresponding one on the
binnacle compass with his pen.

"There," said he, "that is the way to Gibraltar, and as soon as the
mutiny is quelled, and the wind is fair, I'll be off."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

IN WHICH JACK'S CRUISE IS ENDED, AND HE REGAINS THE HARPY.

A few more days passed, and, as was expected, the mutineers could hold
out no longer. In the first place, they had put in the spile of the
second cask of wine