d. When they came on deck, it was nearly dark, yet they could see
the pirate ship at a considerable distance, with all her sails set and
bearing away from them. They prudently waited, concealed from the
possibility of being seen by the enemy, and when the night fell, they
crept to the hatchway, and called out to the men below to endeavor to
effect their liberation, informing them that the pirate was away and out
of sight. They then united their efforts, and the lumber being removed,
the hatches gave way to the force below, so that the released captives
breathed of hope again. The delightful draught, however, was checked,
when the ship was found to contain six feet of water! A momentary
collapse took possession of all their newly excited expectations; cries
and groans of despair burst forth, but the sailors' energy quickly
returned, and was followed by that of the others; they set to work at
the pumps, and by dint of labor succeeded in keeping the vessel afloat.
Yet to direct her course was impossible; the pirates having completely
disabled her, by cutting away her rigging and sawing the masts all the
way through. The eye of Providence, however, was not averted from the
hapless people, for they fell in with a vessel next day that relieved
them from their distressing situation, and brought them to England in
safety.

We will now return to Soto, and show how the hand of that Providence
that secured his intended victims, fell upon himself and his wicked
associates. Intoxicated with their infamous success, the night had far
advanced before Soto learned that the people in the Morning Star,
instead of being slaughtered, were only left to be drowned. The
information excited his utmost rage. He reproached Barbazan, and those
who had accompanied them in the boarding, with disobeying his orders,
and declared that now there could be no security for their lives. Late
as the hour was, and long as he had been steering away from the Morning
Star, he determined to put back, in the hope of effectually preventing
the escape of those in the devoted vessel, by seeing them destroyed
before his eyes. Soto was a follower of the principle inculcated by the
old maxim, "Dead men tell no tales;" and in pursuance of his doctrine,
lost not a moment in putting about and running back. But it was too
late; he could find no trace of the vessel, and so consoled himself with
the belief that she was at the bottom of the sea, many fathoms below the
ken and