time to explain, oblige us to do so.
We are going to take her to Port Royal. Yonder is the land, not more
than forty miles away; the weather is fine and settled, so you will have
no difficulty in reaching the shore by this time to-morrow. When you
land make at once for Port Royal. We will arrange that, on reaching
there, you shall be properly cared for until such time as the _Pinta_
can be restored to you. You will find provisions in the tub and fresh
water in the keg, which we have dropped overboard. And now, adieu! we
wish you a pleasant passage."

Carera and his comrades seemed to take in my meaning even before I had
finished speaking, for, with a whole torrent of sonorous Spanish
maledictions, they once more dashed their oars into the water and made
for the felucca. But Courtenay promptly kept her away and filled the
sail, and we slid foaming past the boat at a distance of some five-and-
twenty feet; and of course, once fairly moving in such a breeze and sea,
no boat that was ever built would have had the slightest chance with the
_Pinta_. They pulled desperately after us for fully half an hour,
however, and then we lost sight of them.

We were hardly well clear of the boat when a hammering and shouting at
the fore-scuttle told us that the watch below had awakened to the
suspicion that something was amiss on deck, and that they were anxious
to know why they were battened down. I accordingly went forward and,
without opening the scuttle, shouted to them that the felucca had been
surprised and captured by the British, which in a sense was quite true,
and that, unless they wished to be treated as pirates, the best thing
they could do would be to remain perfectly quiet and give no trouble
whatever. That the vessel was being taken into Port Royal, and that on
our arrival there I would make it my business to see the proper
authorities and so explain matters to them that the worst thing likely
to befall the felucca's crew would be their temporary detention only.
It is very likely that this communication puzzled them considerably, but
if so, it also had the effect of keeping them quiet, for we never heard
another sound from them. Indeed, had they tried to give us trouble, it
is probable we should have mastered them before they could all have
gained the deck, for our first act, after quieting them, was to arm
ourselves each with a whole beltful of loaded pistols and the best of
the swords in the felucca's armoury