a little rum and water."
This proposal stirred us all. The general rose, saying, "Yes, indeed,
Tom, I will; but where is the rum?" supposing it had been sacrificed
with everything else.

[Illustration: OVER A CORAL-REEF.]

"I sees you pitchin' eberyt'ing away; I jes put this jug in hyar, 'ca'se
I 'lowed you'd want some."

Opening a looker in the transom, he took out the jug. Never was a potion
more grateful; we were faint and thirsty, and it acted like a charm,
and, bringing up on another reef, we were ready for another tussle.
Fortunately, this proved only a short lift. In the mean time the
schooner had passed through the first reef by an opening, as her skipper
was undoubtedly familiar with these waters. Still another shoal was
ahead; instead of again lifting our sloop over it, I hauled by the wind,
and stood for what looked like an opening to the eastward. Our pursuers
were on the opposite tack and fast approaching; a reef intervened, and
when abeam, distant about half a mile, they opened fire both with their
small arms and boat-gun. The second shot from the latter was well
directed; it grazed our mast and carried away the luff of the mainsail.
Several Minie balls struck on our sides without penetrating; we did not
reply, and kept under cover. When abreast of a break in the reef, we up
helm, and again went off before the wind. The schooner was now satisfied
that she could not overhaul us, and stood off to the northward.

Free from our enemy, we were now able to take stock of our supplies and
determine what to do. Our provisions consisted of about ten pounds of
hard bread, a twenty-gallon breaker of water, two thirds full, and three
gallons of rum. Really a fatality appeared to follow us as regards our
commissariat. Beginning with our first drenching on the St. John's,
every successive supply had been lost, and now what we had bought with
so much trouble yesterday, the sellers compelled us to sacrifice to-day.
But our first care was to ballast the sloop, for without it she was so
crank as to be unseaworthy. This was not an easy task; the shore of all
the keys, as well as that of the mainland in sight, was low and swampy,
and covered to the water's edge with a dense growth of mangroves. What
made matters worse, we were without any ground-tackle.

At night we were up to Elliott's Key, and anchored by making fast to a
sweep shoved into the muddy bottom like a shad-pole. When the wind went
down, the mosquitos came o