offer."

"Hudson is my name--my craft is the _Flying Fish_; and when you see her
in a good breeze, you'll acknowledge that she does fly along," answered
the master, looking with pride at his trim and beautiful craft.

She and the frigate instantly made sail to the southward. In a few
hours the sound of an occasional shot saluted their ears and gave them
hopes that the _Blenny_ was still afloat and able to defend herself. As
they got nearer, they could make her out from the mast-head, amid a wide
circle of junks which were keeping up a distant fire at her. It at this
critical juncture fell perfectly calm. Captain Hudson, who had come on
board the frigate and gone aloft, now returned on deck.

"I know the trick of those fellows, sir. They hope to make her exhaust
her ammunition and then to board her. They seem pretty well to have
done that already. You must go to her relief in the boats, or the
villains may have cut the throats of all on board before you can get up
to them."

This seemed too probable. All the frigate's boats were now lowered,
armed with guns in the bows, manned, and sent away under the command of
Mr Cherry, without a moment's delay.

"Poor Jack!" exclaimed Adair to young Harry Bevan. "It was only the
other day that he and I were pulling along just as we are now doing.
And now--who can say where he is? Still, do you know, Harry, I have an
idea that he'll turn up somehow or other. He always has done so, and I
can't help hoping that he and Murray may yet be found."

"I hope and pray so, I'm sure I do," said Harry, almost crying, "but I'm
afraid there's very little chance of it. Even if the Chinese picked
them up, they would be sure to murder them."

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

THE MIDSHIPMEN IN PRISON.

Who would have ventured to believe that the fate of the brave,
true-hearted Jack Rogers, and the gallant, high-minded Alick Murray, was
to be cruelly murdered by a set of ill-conditioned, barbarous Chinese
pirates? Yet such has been unhappily the lot of many of the finest
fellows in the British navy and army. When Jack, supporting Murray with
one arm, looked up and saw half a dozen hideous Chinese faces, with flat
noses, grinning mouths, and queer twisted eyes lighted up by the flames
of the burning fire-ships, gazing maliciously down on him, he gave up
all for lost. Had Murray not been still insensible, he would have swum
away, defying the sharks till he could have got hold of someth