-tipsy men, away they went for the
shore, followed by the smothered imprecations of Carera and his fervent
prayers that the boat might capsize and drown them all.

This visit had evidently discomposed Carera's nerves to a very
considerable extent, for the boat was no sooner fairly away from the
felucca's side than our host presented himself in the cabin, to inform
us that, the land-breeze having sprung up and the night being fine and
clear, he proposed to go to sea at once instead of waiting until
morning. We accordingly went on deck again instead of turning in, as
had been our original intention; and a few minutes later--the boat being
by this time close to the beach, and so thoroughly within the circle of
the brilliant firelight that her occupants were not likely to observe
our movements--the canvas was loosed and all hands went cheerily to work
to get the anchor. This, the water being shallow, was not a long job,
and a quarter of an hour later we were stealing noiselessly away down
the lagoon; the land-breeze, which was rustling cheerily among the tree-
tops, just reaching us in a languid zephyr, mingled now and again with
fitful puffs, which sent us along at a speed of about three knots.

It was now nearly ten o'clock at night; the moon rode high in the
heavens, which were flecked here and there by small patches of fleecy
scurrying cloud; the fog had drifted away, leaving the atmosphere
delightfully pure and clear, so that, narrow as was the channel down
which we were winding our way, we had no difficulty in steering clear of
all obstruction. As we crept down the lagoon we gradually got a truer
breeze and more of it, so that by midnight we found ourselves just
passing out of the Conconil lagoons and entering Santa Clara Bay.

We now had a fine rattling breeze, which we expected would carry us
across the bay and out through the Barcos Channel within the next hour,
but, to Courtenay's and my own inexpressible chagrin, Carera now
informed us that, in order to escape the possibility of a second
rencontre with the frigate we had fallen in with on our passage up, he
had determined to go to the westward, returning round Cape San Antonio
instead of by way of Cape Maysi.

This was horribly disconcerting, for, to tell the truth, we had to a
large extent been hoping for and depending upon such a rencontre as a
means whereby we might effect our escape from the felucca. We thought
that, in the event of such a meeting, as