behind him, but the pursuers had not yet
put in an appearance. There was nothing in sight but the three black
dots on the sand, where the fight with the dogs had taken place.

"Nothing in sight as yet," he gasped encouragingly to Drake, on whom the
pace was again beginning to tell. "Keep it up a little longer; we are
nearly there now."

A couple of minutes more of hard running placed them almost in the
shadow of the walls, and Frobisher was congratulating himself on their
escape, when suddenly something whizzed past his ear with a shrill,
whining sound, and starred itself out in a splash of metal on the stones
of the gateway, plainly visible in the moonlight. A moment later the
crack of a modern rifle made itself heard.

"Confound it!" growled Frobisher, looking round, "half a minute too
late, by all that's annoying! Buck up, Drake! Those fellows are in
sight and have spotted us," he shouted. "It will be touch-and-go now,
and no mistake."

Drake nobly responded to the call, and a few seconds later the two men
plunged through the gateway and were under cover. But, unfortunately,
their pursuers had seen where they had gone, and would not now be at all
likely to give up the chase until they had examined every possible
hiding-place inside the walls.

Along the first street that the fugitives came to they dashed, then down
a turning to the left, and along another street leading out of it, only
to find that this was a blind alley, and that their way was stopped.

"Quick--back again!" gasped Drake. "We cannot get out this way. Hurry,
or they'll catch us at the other end."

"No time," replied Frobisher, breathing heavily. "We must of necessity
go forward now. Here, into this open doorway! This will give us
shelter for the moment, and if they do not sight us they may not try
this street at all."

Accordingly they dashed into the house indicated by Frobisher, and
vanished from view just as a chorus of yells at the mouth of the street
indicated the arrival of their pursuers, while the clatter of horses'
hoofs told only too plainly that the pirates, even if they had not
actually sighted their quarry, had decided to search that particular
street, at all events.

"Here they come," whispered the skipper. "We mustn't stay here, or we
shall be caught like rats in a trap. Up this staircase for your life!
We'll get out on the roof, and make a stand there if they decide to
search the house."

Taking the stone st