ed half a cheese, together with a cooked ox-tongue, which we
had only cut into that morning at breakfast, and a piece of boiled salt
beef. This cargo I conveyed on deck and deposited in the tub, which I
considered was then loaded as fully as was desirable, considering that
we intended to set it afloat in a roughish sea for a craft of that
build. I then went below again for an empty vinegar keg which I had
stumbled over in the store-room; and, taking it on deck, I filled it
with water from the scuttle-butt, bunged it securely, and my
preparations were complete.

Meanwhile Courtenay had been very cleverly dodging the felucca along
almost in the wind's eye, so that she had made but little progress, and
the boat, which had been tearing after us as hard as the oarsmen could
pull her through the water, was not more than half a mile astern. I
told Courtenay what I had done, and what I proposed to do; and whilst I
passed a couple of rope's ends through the handles of the tub, in
readiness to launch it overboard at the proper moment, my companion wore
the felucca round and stood back toward the boat.

Seeing us returning directly toward them, the men laid upon their oars,
possibly imagining that we were about to pick them up. Straight as a
line for them we ran until they were only about a cable's length
distant, when Courtenay sprang his luff, and we darted away considerably
to windward of them, upon which they took to their oars once more, and
began to force the boat heavily ahead against the sea. Seeing that we
had ample time to launch the tub, I now signed Courtenay to shoot the
felucca into the wind, when, waiting until she had all but lost her way,
we very cleverly launched the tub and the keg over the side without
causing the former to ship so much as a drop of water, and then filled
away once more. The occupants of the boat, by this time thoroughly
mystified, paddled quietly up to the floating tub, and transferred its
contents to the boat. Meanwhile we in the felucca, having stood on to a
sufficient distance, once more wore round, and again made for the boat,
luffing and shaking the wind out of our sail when within hailing
distance of her. Then, whilst Courtenay narrowly watched the boat, and
held himself ready to fill on the felucca again in good time to avoid
being boarded, I sprang into the lee rigging and hailed:

"Boat ahoy! We are sorry to take the felucca from you, but
circumstances, which we have now no