rrying forward.

No answer was returned.

"I fear the vessel must have gone down. We shouted to her to keep her
luff, but no attention was paid, and she ran right under our bows," said
the officer.

"I'm not certain that she sank," I answered. "She appeared to me to be
capsizing, and I hope may be still afloat."

"We will look for her, at all events," said the officer; and he gave the
necessary orders to bring the ship to the wind, and then to go about.

So dark was the night, however, that we might have passed close to a
vessel without seeing her, though eager eyes were looking out on either
side.

Having stood on a little way we again tacked, and for three hours kept
beating backwards and forwards; but our search was in vain.

The vessel which had run down the hooker was, I found, H.M. brig of war
_Osprey_, commander Hartland, on her passage home from the North
American station.

"You have had a narrow escape of it," observed the commander, who came
on deck immediately on being informed of what had occurred. "I am truly
glad that you have been saved, and wish that we had been able to pick up
the crew. I have done all I can," he said at length, "and I feel sure
that if the hooker had remained afloat, we must have passed close to
her."

"I am afraid that you are right, sir," I said, and I gave vent to a
groan, if I did not actually burst into tears, as I thought of the
cheery spirits of my faithful follower Larry being quenched in death.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

A VISIT TO FRANCE.

"What is the matter?" asked the commander in a kind tone.

"I had a man on board who had been with me ever since I went to sea," I
answered. "We had been through dangers of all sorts together, and he
would have given his life to save mine."

"Very sorry, very sorry to hear it," he said in a kind tone. "Come into
my cabin; I'll give you a shake-down, and you must try to go to sleep
till the morning."

I gladly accepted his offer. The steward soon made up a bed for me; but
after the dreadful event of the night, I found it more difficult than I
had ever done before to close my eyes. I kept thinking of poor Larry,
and considering if I could have done anything to save him. I blamed
myself for turning in, when I saw the half-drunken condition of the
skipper. His crew probably were in the same state, and had neglected to
keep a look-out. I at last, however, went to sleep, and didn't awake
till the steward called me,