so much tide, though it _is_ in our
favour; it is setting us bodily down towards the shoal water. Keep the
lead going, there, in the fore-chains. We should do none the worse,
sir, if the Frenchmen's boat were cut adrift."

"Cut it adwift at once," said the skipper, who was standing close by;
"cut it adwift at once, and the launch as well; we cannot afford to have
so much as a rope's end dragging alongside just now. Ah! I have been
expecting that," as the brig before referred to, having got a spring
upon her cable, and brought her broadside to bear, opened fire upon us.
"Never mind," continued the skipper, "we shall soon be out of harm's
way, as far as she is concerned; it is the fire of the battewies I dwead
most; they, no doubt, mount heavy metal, and if the guns are well served
a single bwoadside will unwig us. This is an ugly looking fellow here,
on our starboard bow; they evidently mean mischief there, by the number
of lights they show. Let the starboard bwoadside guns be twained for
the thwee ports where we see the most light, Mr Annesley, and let each
gun be fired, as it is bwought to bear."

At this juncture another broadside from the brig whistled overhead,
making a few eyelet-holes in our canvas and cutting one or two
unimportant ropes; and immediately afterwards a shot, quickly followed
by another, and yet another, came plunging at us from the fort.

The guns were evidently pointed with the intention of bringing down our
spars, but luckily we again escaped without any damage worth speaking
of. Matters were beginning to assume a very lively aspect for us; for
as we glided down the harbour we could see the lights glancing in
battery after battery, on each side of us, until every one of them was
lighted up.

Still, on swept the frigate, silent as a ghostly ship, and without a
light of any kind visible on board her, the battle-lanterns being every
one carefully masked, the men standing silent and motionless as statues
at their guns; even the remarks interchanged between the officers were
expressed in low murmurs only loud enough to reach the ear for which
they were intended, the oppressive silence being intensified rather than
broken by an occasional "Luff! luff, you may, quarter-master," from
Percival.

Presently, _crash_ came a simultaneous discharge of five heavy guns from
the battery on our starboard hand, and four from another battery on the
opposite shore; the shot hissed overhead, there was a d