at."

"If so, then our chance of a trip in the boat is over," said Nat.

The commander and his lieutenants discussed the subject earnestly.

"She is not a British ship," exclaimed Mr Tarwig, who had been watching
her attentively through his glass for a minute or more; "that craft out
there is a Spaniard. She is coming here to see what we are about.
Depend on it, the little craft we saw the other day has carried the
information that we are here, and the Spaniards have come to turn us
out, if they can."

"I believe you are right," observed the commander, after again examining
the stranger. "We must be prepared for whatever may happen. If, as you
suspect, yonder ship is a Spaniard, she comes with the intention of
taking us. What say you, Mr Billhook?"

"I agree with the first lieutenant, sir," answered the master.

"And what is your opinion, Foley?"

"I have little doubt that she is an enemy, and probably well acquainted
with the reefs. If so, she will stand in near enough to attack the
fort; or if its existence is not known, the Spaniards will send their
boats on shore, expecting without difficulty to make us all prisoners,"
answered the second lieutenant.

"They will find that they are mistaken," observed the commander. "Get
all the boats hauled up and placed under shelter behind the rocks, Mr
Billhook. Call the men to their quarters, see that the guns are ready
for action, and serve out arms and ammunition. We shall somewhat
surprise the enemy if they attempt to land, for they are not likely to
know of the existence of the fort, and will probably at once send their
boats on shore, expecting to carry us off without difficulty."

The men, who had, like their officers, been watching the approach of the
stranger, were well pleased when they heard that she was supposed to be
an enemy, and were eager for a fight. It would be a pleasant variety to
the monotony of their existence, and no one entertained a doubt but that
they should beat her off. The rays of the setting sun, glancing on her
side as it rose above the water, showed her to be a large frigate.
Though her flag could not be seen, not a doubt was entertained that she
was Spanish. The wind, however, had fallen, and she was still some
three or four miles beyond the outer reefs; when darkness settled down
on the ocean, she was seen to haul her wind, apparently to lay to till
daylight. The night was unusually dark, so that nothing could be seen
of her