being at the same time dismissed. A
conference of some twenty minutes' duration now ensued, at the
termination of which Courtenay, with half a dozen men as a prize-crew,
was sent away to take charge of the schooner; and on the return of the
boat, both vessels filled away and stood off the land on a taut bowline,
the negro owner of the schooner being detained on board the frigate.

Early the next morning the remainder of the squadron was sighted, and
immediately after breakfast Captain Pigot boarded the commodore, taking
the negro with him. He was absent for the greater part of the morning,
and that something of moment was on the _tapis_ soon became apparent,
from the fact that the captains of the _Quebec, Mermaid, Drake_, and
_Penelope_ were signalled for. Everybody was now on the _qui vive_, a
pleasant excitement taking the place of that stolid sullen indifference
and apathy on the part of our crew which had gradually resulted from the
skipper's ill-advised harshness to them. At length the boats were seen
to push off on their way back to their respective ships; and, a few
minutes later, Captain Pigot passed up the gangway and came in on deck.
Everybody now waited in breathless expectation for the anticipated order
which should convey to us an inkling of the nature of the work in hand;
but, to our general disappointment, no such order was given. The
skipper's face, however, wore a look of exultant satisfaction, and his
demeanour was so much less unpleasant than usual that we felt convinced
there was something in the wind; and all hands settled down accordingly
to await, with what patience we could muster, the development of events.

It was not, however, until two days later, the 20th of April, that our
curiosity was satisfied. A signal from the commodore requesting the
captains of the _Hermione, Quebec, Mermaid, Drake_, and _Penelope_ to
repair on board him, was the first incident of the day; and this was
followed by a conference so protracted that the gigs' crews only got
back to their ships barely in time for dinner. A most careful and
scrupulous inspection of the arm-chest consumed nearly the whole of the
afternoon watch; and finally, at eight bells, or four o'clock p.m.,
after a considerable amount of signalling, the ships already named
detached themselves from the rest of the squadron, and, under Captain
Pigot's orders, made sail to the westward; the negro captain being at
the same time restored to his comm