r, and his understanding eye saw the
particular rope that was so soon to deprive Ghita of her grandfather;
though it was lost to her and her uncle among the maze of rigging by
which it was surrounded.

There might have been ten minutes passed in this solemn stillness,
during which the crowd of boats continued to collect; and the crews of
the different ships were permitted to take such positions as enabled
them to become spectators of a scene that it was hoped might prove
admonitory. It is part of the etiquette of a vessel of war to make her
people keep close; it being deemed one sign of a well-ordered ship to
let as few men be seen as possible, except on those occasions when duty
requires them to show themselves. This rigid rule, however, was
momentarily lost sight of, and the teeming masses that floated around La
Minerva gave up their thousands like bees clustering about their hives.
It was in the midst of such signs of expectation that the call of the
boatswain was heard piping the side on board the Foudroyant, and four
side-boys lay over on the accommodation-ladder, a mark of honor never
paid to one of a rank less than that of a captain. Raoul's boat was
within fifty yards of that very gangway, and he turned his head in idle
curiosity to see who might descend into the gig that was lying at the
foot of the long flight of steps. An officer with one epaulette came
first, showing the way to two civilians, and a captain followed. All
descended in a line and entered the boat. The next instant the oars
fell, and the gig whirled round under the Foudroyant's stern and came
glancing up toward his own skiff. Four or five of the strong man-of-war
jerks sufficed to send the long, narrow boat as far as was desired, when
the men ceased rowing, their little craft losing her way within ten feet
of the skiff occupied by our party, Then it was that Raoul, to his
surprise, discovered that the two civilians were no other than Andrea
Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, who had accompanied Cuffe and Griffin, their
companions in the gig, on a cruise, of which the express object was to
capture himself and his vessel.

Another man would have been alarmed at finding himself in such close
vicinity to his enemies; but Raoul Yvard was amused, rather than
rendered uneasy, by the circumstance. He had faith in his disguise; and
he was much too familiar with incidents of this sort not to retain his
self-command and composure. Of course he knew nothing of the