p her to her course. Hullo! she's
off afore the wind!"

As the rider of the maherry gave out this declaration, the animal was
seen suddenly to increase its speed, not only in a progressive ratio,
but at once to double quick, as if impelled by some powerful motive.

At the same time it was heard to utter a strange cry, half scream, half
snort, which could not have been caused by any action on the part of its
rider.

It was already over a hundred yards in advance of those following on
foot; but after giving out that startling cry, the distance became
quickly increased, and in a few seconds of time the three astonished
"mids" saw only the shadow of a maherry, with a sailor upon its back,
first dissolving into dim outline until it finally disappeared behind
the sand-dunes that abutted upon the beach.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THE DANCE INTERRUPTED.

Leaving the midshipmen to their mirth, which, however, was not of very
long duration, we must follow Sailor Bill and the runaway camel.

In reality the maherry had made off with him, though for what reason the
sailor could not divine. He only knew that it was going at the rate of
nine or ten knots an hour, and going its own way; for instead of keeping
to the line of the coast, the direction he would have wished it to take,
it had suddenly turned tail upon the sea, and headed towards the
interior of the country.

Its rider had already discovered that he had not the slightest control
over it. He had tugged upon the hair halter and shouted "Avast!" until
both his arms and tongue were tired. All to no purpose. The camel
scorned his commands, lent a deaf ear to his entreaties, and paid not
the slightest heed to his attempt to pull up, except to push on in the
opposite direction, with its snout elevated in the air and its long
ungainly neck stretched forward in the most determined and provoking
fashion.

There was not much force in the muscular efforts made to check it. It
was just as much as its rider could do to balance himself on its hump,
which, of course, he had to do Arab fashion, sitting upon the saddle as
on a chair, with his feet resting upon the back of the animal's neck.
It was this position that rendered his seat so insecure, but no other
could have been adopted in the saddle of a maherry, and the sailor was
compelled to keep it as well as he could.

At the time the animal first started off, it had not gone at so rapid a
pace but that he might have slipped