e fact that he had not
fired a single gun in defiance. Surely he might have discharged his
pieces once, in the hope of doing a little damage, before setting a
match to the magazine.

Of all our party in the pungy, not one escaped more or less severe
bruises or scratches, and the wonder is that the vessel was not sent
to the bottom off hand.

However, we were yet afloat, and the river was open for the passage of
the Britishers, therefore it may be understood that we could not
afford to spend many minutes in speculations upon what might or might
not have been done.

Within three minutes from the time of the explosion, Darius and Bill
Jepson were in the small boat making fast to the bow of the pungy, and
when Captain Hanaford shouted to ask what they counted on doing, the
old sailor replied:

"There's a creek half a mile further up stream, an' if you can get
any headway on this apple-bowed lugger, we may be able to hide before
the Britishers come in sight."

It was absolutely certain that we could not hope to escape by sailing,
because any four-oared boat in the British fleet would have overtaken
us in a twinkling, therefore, unless it might be possible to hide, we
were in a bad scrape, from which I saw no relief save at the expense
of abandoning the pungy.

How we worked to push the vessel through the water! Darius and Bill
plied the paddles with every ounce of strength in their bodies, while
we on deck trimmed the sails to a nicety, shifted everything movable
to bring her into better trim for sailing, and even swung the two long
sweeps outboard.

We five lads manned the enormous oars with which the pungy was
provided to help her around, or when she drifted too near inshore, and
I dare venture to say that we did quite as much toward forcing the
craft ahead as the two old shell-backs did by towing.

Fortunately for us, the Britishers did not appear to think it
necessary to move up the river swiftly, knowing full well that all the
towns above were at their mercy whenever they arrived; but the fleet
hove to off the ruins of the fortification while some of the officers
landed to ascertain the amount of damage done. It was this last which
gave us the opportunity of which we stood so sorely in need, otherwise
we were taken prisoners beyond a peradventure.

By dint of pulling and paddling we contrived to get the pungy into the
creek of which Darius had spoken, before the enemy came in sight
again, and then it was a