served their fate more than I
think they do," answered Murray.

"I don't understand those niceties," observed Terence, who had just then
come up. "Those fellows don't do what we tell them, so we've a perfect
right to kill and destroy them as fast as we can; but, halloo, what's
that?"

As Adair was speaking a terrific noise, ten times louder than the roar
of all the guns of the squadron put together, was heard, and high up
into the air were seen to ascend fragments of walls, and beams, and
human bodies, succeeded by a dense smoke, out of which flames burst
forth and raged furiously. The castle had blown up, or rather the grand
magazine within it, and in a moment nearly two thousand persons were
hurried into eternity. The firing ceased--the combatants held their
breath, aghast at the dreadful catastrophe; but the Egyptians,
undaunted, soon again recommenced the action, and the ships bombarded on
as before till sunset, when the action was discontinued.

"What tough fellows those must be to hold out so long," said Jack. "I
should have thought they would have had enough of it before this."

The governor had already come to the same conclusion, and during the
night he and his followers evacuated the place, and in the morning some
Turks and Austrians were sent on shore to take possession. The capture
of Acre terminated the war in Syria, for many of the tribes which had
been hesitating which side to choose, joined the Sultan's forces, and
the army of Ibrahim Pacha dwindled from 75,000 to 20,000 men. Sir
Charles Napier went to Alexandria, and Mehemet Ali, persuaded that the
tide of war had turned against him, undertook to evacuate Syria, and to
restore the Turkish fleet, as soon as the Sultan should send him a
firman, granting him the hereditary government of Egypt. Everybody
engaged in the Syrian war got a great deal of credit, and my three
friends came in for a midshipman's share of the honours showered on the
victors. Once more the _Racer_ was ploughing the waters of the
Mediterranean with her head to the westward. She had been her full time
on the station, and it was the general expectation that she would
speedily be ordered home.

"Hurrah for old England!" was the joyous cry on board, and no one
enjoyed the thoughts of returning home more than did the three friends,
and yet there was a lump of bitter in the bottom of the cup to spoil
this pleasure. It was the thought that in all probability they would be
soo