which we took not the slightest
notice. I placed myself at the tiller, Carera took up a position on the
stem-head, conning the felucca, and Courtenay devoted all his energies
to the encouragement of the men as they laboured at the sweeps.
Meanwhile, the breeze was gradually creeping nearer to us every minute,
which, whilst an advantage in so far as it lessened the time during
which the men would have to toil at the sweeps, was more than
counterbalanced by the disagreeable fact that it would enable the
frigate to approach so much the nearer to us before she in her turn
became becalmed.

At length the noble craft shot across the outer boundary of the calm
belt, and the instant that her canvas flapped to the masts her helm was
gently ported until she headed straight for us, when another gun was
fired; and before the smoke had cleared away she had swept round until
her whole broadside--numbering eighteen guns--was bearing upon us.

"Now," shouted Courtenay, "look out for squalls!"

The words had scarcely left his lips when _bang_! went another gun, and
we saw the shot come skipping and ricochetting across the glassy surface
of the water straight toward us, ploughing up long steamy jets of spray
at every bound, and finally, with a skurrying splash, disappearing about
a dozen yards astern of us. After this there was a pause of about half
a minute, apparently to see whether we were really foolhardy enough to
persist in attempting our escape--and also, probably, to give the
muzzles of their guns a little more elevation--when, seeing that the
sweeps were still kept steadily going, she let fly her whole broadside
at us with a rattling crash, which caused the Spaniards with one accord
to let go their hold upon the sweeps and drop flat on their faces on the
deck. Another moment and the shot came hurtling about us, some overhead
and a very fair dose on each side of the little craft, so close too that
the spray flashed in over the deck in a regular shower, whilst one shot
came crashing in through the taffrail, flying close past me where I was
standing at the tiller, smashing through the head of the companion and
then flying out over the bows, passing through the sail on its way and
missing Carera's head by a hair's-breadth.

"Eighteen-pounders, by the powers!" ejaculated Courtenay, turning to me.
"A narrow squeak that for you, old boy? Now, then, my hearties," to
the Spaniards, "tail on to those sweeps again, and look sharp a