, can
travel fast when we want her; and if she's not fast enough, why, that
gun there on the sponson forrud can send a speedier messenger in advance
of her, to tell the pirates she's coming!"

"Will it reach them inside the reef, sir?"

"Reach them inside the reef!" he repeated after me in a quizzing sort of
way. "Of course it will, my lad, and further too. That gun will carry
seven miles at an elevation of less than forty-five degrees!"

"Oh, crickey!" I exclaimed; whereat he and the other officers laughed
at my astonishment, which my face betrayed, of course, as usual. The
crew, though, who were near were too well trained to laugh, except
according to orders. Being men-o'-war's men, they only smiled at my
ejaculation.

It was getting on for sunset when we sighted the Pratas shoal, the masts
of the Silver Queen being seen much further off than the reef, although
I forgot to mention that her sails of course had been furled after she
grounded; and, as we got nearer and nearer, we did not hear any noise of
rifle shots, or the junks' matchlocks, as would have been the case if
they had been fighting again--my comrades I was certain would die
dearly.

I hoped that they had not begun yet; for I could not bear to think that
their fate might have been sealed in my absence, and all those brave
fellows, perhaps, been butchered by the pirates!

Closing in upon the reef and making for the entrance on the south-west
side, we noticed that boats were passing to and fro between the junks
and the ship.

Just then a puff of smoke came from the stern of the ship, followed by
the sound of a rifle shot in the distance, after which followed a
regular fusillade of musketry fire.

The lieutenant had meanwhile not been idle, the man-of-war's launch and
pinnace having been lowered with their nine-pounders in the bows, all
primed and loaded; and, on my getting after him in the pinnace, he gave
the order to pull in towards the scene of action, the gunboat meanwhile
bringing her big Armstrongs to bear on the fleet of junks in the middle
of the lagoon, only waiting until we got well up to the ship before
firing so as to take the pirates by surprise.

I cannot describe the feeling I had as we dashed forward, the thought of
checkmating the bloodthirsty scoundrels and saving my shipmates being
too great to be expressed by words.

Ching Wang, whom the lieutenant allowed to come in the pinnace with me,
also looked wonderfully excited ag