o the
deck--cautiously did he transfer Juana to the bark, and guide her aft.
The Major was just preparing to follow, when a noise from the boat
startled him: Juana had upset an unlucky wine-jar which Francisco had
left there. The sentry put his head over the wall, and challenged;
Francisco, starting up, shoved hastily off; the sentry fired his
piece, his bullet shattering the wine-jar that had caused the
mischief. Juana screamed, Owen swore in English, and Francisco
surpassed him in Spanish. There was no time to return or wait for the
other pair, for the guard was alarmed by the sentry's shot, and their
accoutrements might be heard rattling near at hand, as they turned
hastily out. Before they reached the wall, however, the boat had
disappeared.

Major Flinders watched it till it was out of sight, and, at first,
experienced a feeling of despair at being thus deprived of the aid of
Garry's boldness and promptitude, and left to his own resources.
Presently, however, a gleam of comfort dawned upon him--perhaps
Carlota would now abandon the enterprise, and he should thus, at any
rate, be freed from the embarrassment her presence occasioned him. In
this hope he was shortly undeceived. To have added the shame of
failure and exposure to her present disappointment, while an opening
to persevere still remained, did not suit that lady's ardent spirit;
and whether it was that the unscrupulous Garry had really represented
the Major as very much in love, or whether such an impression resulted
from her own lively imagination, she certainly thought her companion
would be as much chagrined at such a denouement as herself. She
displayed a prompt decision in this emergency, being, indeed, as
remarkable for presence as the Major was for absence of mind. Taking
the Major's arm, she caused him swiftly to retrace his steps with
her to the inn where he had slept. As they retreated, they heard the
boom of a gun behind them, fired, doubtless, from the Point, at the
Fair Unknown. At Carlota's orders, a couple of horses, one with a
side-saddle, were speedily at the inn-door; they mounted, and, before
the sun was yet risen, had issued forth from the gate of Tarifa, on
the road to Gibraltar.

The Major rode beside her like a man in a dream--in fact, he was
partly asleep, having been deprived of a large portion of his natural
and accustomed rest, and partly bewildered. A few days before he had
been the most methodical, unromantic, not to say humd