the gap, bringing with her a cloud of smoke
which was rent and torn with flames of fire. For the next hour, there,
a mile away, the frigates lay manoeuvring and exchanging their
broadsides, neither appearing to get the upper hand.

Two of the French officers were now up at the flagstaff, where they had
hoisted their own colours, and they were eagerly watching the varying
fortunes of the naval action, which, as far as the lookers-on could see,
might result in the favour of either. The firing was terrific, and for
the time being the occupants of the fort forgot their enmity in the
excitement of the naval engagement going on.

A wild shrill cheer suddenly rose from by the flagstaff, answered by a
shout of defiance from the English battery, as all at once the
mizzen-topmast of the _Sirius_ with its well-filled sails bowed over as
if doubled-up; but the loss did not check the firing nor her way, and
the shrill cheer was silenced. For in the midst of the French elation,
and as the course of the frigate was changed so that she might cross the
bows of the _Sirius_ and rake her, two more of the officers had gone up
from by the guns, and were mounting the path to the flagstaff to
participate in the triumph. They were in time to see the mainmast of
the French frigate, already sorely wounded, yield to a puff of wind and
go right over to leeward, leaving the beautiful ship helpless like a
sea-bird with a broken wing.

Captain Belton quickly took advantage of the position, raked the
Frenchman from stem to stern, ran his own vessel close up under her
quarter, and as the smoke rolled away a crowd of boarders were seen
pouring over on to her decks, the shouts and cheering of the fighting
reaching to the ears of the spectators.

"We've taken her," cried Roylance, exultingly, and he was about to call
upon the men to cheer when a look from Syd silenced him.

"Quick, lads!" he whispered. "In two parties. I'll lead one, Mr
Roylance the other. We'll divide and run down to the guns and take them
before they know where they are. Hist, not a sound! Now!"

The officers were still gazing directly away at the concluding episodes
of the fight, so that only one was down at the battery, whose occupants
were so taken by surprise, that before the junior lieutenant left had
given the order to fire the Englishmen were half-way to them. Then as a
cannon sent its charge of grape hurtling up the narrow pass, the two
little parties cheered, d