k. In vain they
expostulated. They could not deny that they intended to try and
recapture the ship. The English crew were thus greatly relieved, and a
portion were enabled to lie down and obtain the rest they so much
required.

Thus night wore on, and as yet no sign of land had been discovered.
Again the lead was hove. It gave twenty fathoms, shortly afterwards
fifteen; and at the same moment, during a lull in the gale, the roar of
breakers on a rocky shore could be heard.

Mr Leigh instantly gave the order to prepare for anchoring. The canvas
was quickly taken in and the anchor let go. This was the moment the
Frenchmen had intended to carry their plot into execution. The English
officers, with a party of men, well armed, kept watch on them, and
deprived of their leaders they dared not make the attempt. It was now a
question whether the anchor would hold. A second had been got ready to
let go if necessary, and the French lieutenant undertook, should they
part from that, to pilot the frigate through one of the channels of
which the boatswain had spoken, where she could remain in safety until
the gale was over.

"I will trust you," said Mr Leigh, shaking him by the hand. "You have
proved yourself a man of honour."

Notwithstanding the promised assistance of the French lieutenant, Mr
Leigh felt considerable anxiety as to what might be the fate of the
frigate. The French crew might still rise and attempt to retake the
prize should they find themselves at a distance from the "Sylvia." The
coast, too, was dangerous in the extreme, and it might be found
impossible to reach the channel through which it was proposed to pass.
Before sail could be made the frigate might be driven on the rocks under
her lee, or the sails, if set, might be blown to tatters before she
could again be brought to an anchor. With forebodings of evil,
Lieutenant Leigh paced the deck. The night passed slowly away; when
morning dawned the "Sylvia" was nowhere to be seen. The gale blew as
furiously as ever. Captain Stanhope, in the crippled state to which his
ship had been reduced by the action, although she had suffered much less
than her opponent, had evidently considered it his duty to keep off the
shore. "I should have done the same," thought Mr Leigh. "He would
have risked the `Sylvia's' safety by coming to our assistance. It was
right to leave us to our fate."

Although a long scope of cable had been run out, the "Venus" rode