y wound, and if you don't lie down and keep yourself quiet, you
won't be fit to do your share in any fighting tomorrow; and I
reckon that you would like to be in the front of this skirmish. You
know in India wounds inflamed very soon if one did not keep quiet
with them, and I expect that it is just the same here.

"It is not as if you could do any good on deck. The men are just as
anxious to catch that brigantine as you are. They were hot enough
before, but now that one of their mates has been killed, and five
or six wounded, I believe that they would go round the world rather
than let her slip through their hands. I shall be up and down all
night, Major, and the captain and both mates will be up, too, and I
promise that we will let you know if there is anything to tell
you."

"Well, I will lie down, George, but I know that I shall get no
sleep. Still, perhaps, it will be better for me to keep my arm
quite quiet."

He was already without his coat, for that had been cut from the
neck down to the wrist, to enable George to get at the wound. He
kicked off his light canvas shoes, and George helped him to lie
down in his berth.

"You will be sure to let me know if she changes her course or
anything?"

"I promise you that I will come straight down, Major."

Three quarters of an hour later, George stole noiselessly down and
peeped into the stateroom. He had turned down the swinging lamp
before he went up, but there was enough light to enable him to see
that his master had fallen off to sleep. He took the news up to
Hawkins, who at once gave orders that no noise whatever was to be
made. The men still moved about the deck, but all went barefooted.

"The wind keeps just the same," Hawkins said. "I can't make it more
than three and a half knots through the water. I would give a
year's pay if it would go round dead ahead of us; we should soon
pick her up then. As it is, she keeps crawling away. However, we
can make her out, on such a night as this, a good deal further than
she is likely to get before morning. Besides, we shall be having
the moon up soon, and as we are steering pretty nearly east, it
will show her up famously.

"Now I will give you the same advice that you gave the governor.
You had much better lie down for a bit. Purvis has gone down for a
sleep, Perry will go down when he comes up at twelve, and I shall
get an hour or two myself later on."

"I won't go down," George said, "but I will bring a couple of