of comfort we were fain to go below and turn in.

When the hands were called next morning it was found that Captain Pigot
was still absent from the ship, but as he was expected to turn up at any
moment the messenger was passed and the cable hove short. A slight stir
was occasioned by the crews of the other three ships making preparations
to get under way; and as these craft one after the other let fall and
sheeted home their topsails, finally tripping their anchors and making
their way to sea with the last of the land-breeze, it became evident
that something out of the ordinary course must have occurred to delay
our skipper. It was close upon eight bells when the gig was sighted
pulling down from the direction of Kingston, and when a few minutes
later Captain Pigot came up over the side, it was noticed that he was
ghastly pale and that his right arm was in a sling. He seemed to be
suffering considerably, and it was in a somewhat wavering voice that he
said to the first-lieutenant:

"Are you all ready, Mr Reid? Then get your anchor, sir, and let us be
off at once. And, Mr Courtenay, be good enough to tell the surgeon I
wish to see him in my cabin."

With which he turned short round and walked somewhat unsteadily away,
not making his appearance on deck again for nearly a week.

It afterwards transpired that his awkward temper had led to a quarrel,
during the progress of the ball, between himself and one of the soldier
officers from Up-park Camp, which quarrel had terminated in a meeting on
the Palisades, the soldier escaping unscathed, whilst Captain Pigot had
emerged from the encounter with his arm broken by a bullet from his
adversary's pistol.

Noon that day found us off Morant Point thrashing to windward under
single-reefed topsails, with a sea running which every now and then made
the frigate careen gunwale-to.

CHAPTER SIX.

A REMONSTRANCE--AND ITS SEQUEL.

Our instructions, it seemed, were that we should cruise to the southward
of Saint Domingo, from Cape Tiburon as far eastward as the Mona Passage,
giving an occasional look into Port-au-Prince. We accordingly carried
on all that day, taking a second reef in the topsails at sunset, and
heaving the ship round on the starboard tack at midnight, which brought
us well in under the lee of Cape Tiburon by daybreak next morning. We
were then on our cruising ground; sail was shortened, and the frigate,
being hove about, was allowed to jog along under e