ited for a
favourable opportunity to fire. At length it came. The shell entered
the starboard-bow of the pursuing boat, about midway between her gunwale
and her water-line; and immediately, to our great surprise, there was a
violent explosion on board her.

A vivid flash of flame darted upward and outward; the sides of the boat
appeared to be violently wrenched apart at their junction with the stem;
the gun and its carriage rose heavily in the air about ten feet, and
fell with a tremendous splash into the sea; and oars and men were flung
wildly about, many of them being blown fairly overboard, whilst a dense
cloud of smoke arose, and for a moment hid everything from our view.

When it cleared away, there floated the wreck of the boat, just awash;
and there too, among the struggling crew in the water, darted to and fro
the fins of the terrible sharks, very probably the same monsters who had
so recently feasted on their shipmates. Our shell had taken most
fearful effect, igniting their ammunition, and thus blowing their boat
to pieces at our first discharge.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE CHASE DIVERTED.

There was an awful suddenness about the destruction of this second boat
and her crew which almost appalled us, and it was with considerably
sobered feelings that, after a dead silence of a few minutes, we
proceeded to discuss the character of our next movements.

Our proper course was about north-west, that being the bearing of the
point, the latitude and longitude of which had been given us as that of
the treasure-island.

Our charts showed no island exactly at that spot, but there were many at
very short distances from it; indeed, it was situated almost in the very
heart of that extensive group of islets known as the Low Archipelago;
and when talking the matter over before, we had decided that it was
quite possible we should be obliged to take a somewhat extended cruise
among these islands, and to examine several of them before coming upon
the one of which we were in search.

Under these circumstances we came to the conclusion that it would be
unadvisable to give the pirates any indication of our true destination
by steering on our proper course as long as they were in sight, for the
destruction of their two boats, with the loss of their crews, would
undoubtedly kindle such a desire for vengeance in the breasts of the
survivors as, in all likelihood, to prompt them to go a good bit out of
their way, if necessar