you that our case was hopeless from the first, and I
compliment you upon your dispositions, which were certainly admirable."

"You and your officers will be perfectly at liberty," the captain said;
"your crews must be placed in partial confinement, but a third of them can
always be on deck. My surgeon has come on board with me, and will at once
assist yours in attending to your wounded."

A considerable portion of the crew of the _Furious_ were at once put on
board the French frigate _Eclaire_, and set to work to dismantle her. The
masts, spars, and rigging were transferred to the _Furious_ and erected in
place of her own shattered stumps, which were thrown overboard. Thus,
after four days of the hardest work for all, the _Furious_ was again
placed in fighting trim.

Preparations were immediately made for sailing. The _Furious_ led the way,
towing behind her the dismantled hull in which the whole of the prisoners
were carried. A prize crew of sixty were placed on board the _Actif_.

When they were about half-way to Jamaica a squadron of three vessels were
sighted. Preparations were made to throw off the _Eclaire_ if the ships
proved to be hostile, but before long it was evident that they were
English. They approached rapidly, and when they rounded-to near the
_Furious_ the crews manned the yards and greeted her with tremendous
cheers. The officer in command was at once rowed to the _Furious_. As the
boat neared the ship his friends recognized Mr. Peters and Robson sitting
in the stern.

"What miracle is this, Captain Harker?" the officer cried as he came on
deck. "Your lieutenant brought us news that you were dismasted and lying
helpless in some little inlet, and here you are with what I can see is a
French equipment and a couple of prizes! I can almost accuse you of having
brought us here on a fool's errand."

"It must have that appearance to you; but the facts of the case are
simple;" and he told the story of the fight. "The battle was practically
over when the first shot was fired," he said. "The two French ships lost
upwards of seventy killed and over a hundred wounded, while we had only
four men killed and two wounded. If the place had been designed by nature
specially for defence it could not have been better adapted for us."

"I see that," Captain Ingham said; "but you made the most of the
advantages. Your plan of laying her broadside to the entrance, getting all
your cannon on one side, and building a boom