I can promise you that as soon as you do so
you shall, if you are still here, have your appointment at once as mate,
with employment in which you can distinguish yourself."

"Thank you very much, sir!" Will said, and, saluting, retired.

In three days the ship's prizes and native craft were unloaded, and their
contents were found to be of very great value, for by the marks upon the
goods it was evident that at least twenty-three merchantmen must have been
captured and pillaged, and as none of these were ever heard of after they
had sailed it was reasonably concluded that all must have been burnt, and
those on board murdered. The case was so atrocious that the prisoners were
all tried, condemned to death, and executed in batches. There was little
doubt that the pirates must have had agents in the various ports who had
kept them informed of the sailing of ships, but there was no means of
ascertaining who these parties were.

The _Furious_ sailed four days after her return, and this time cruised on
the northern coast of Cuba. One day, when sailing along by a stretch of
high cliffs, a ship of war suddenly appeared from a narrow inlet; she was
followed by two others. The _Furious_ was headed round at once, and with
the three French frigates in pursuit started on her way back. The wind was
light, and though every stitch of canvas was set, it was evident, after an
hour's sailing, that one, at least, of her pursuers gained steadily on
her. The French ship would, indeed, have gained more than she had done had
she not yawed occasionally and fired with her bow-chasers. The _Furious_
had shifted two of her broadside guns to her stern to reply, but, although
the aim was good, only one or two hits were made, the distance being still
too great for accurate shooting.

"I wish the other two Frenchmen were a little slower," the captain said to
the first lieutenant. "They are only a little farther behind her than when
we started, and are, I think, only about half a mile astern of her. If she
continues to travel at her present rate she will be close up to us by
sunset. She is just about our own size, and I make no doubt that we should
give a good account of her, but we could not hope to do so before her two
consorts came up, and we could not expect to beat all three. If we could
but fall in with one of our cruisers I would fight them willingly."

"Yes, the odds are too much against us at present, sir. I don't say that
we could not figh