reeze, and there was a young moon, but it would
set early, some two hours indeed before the moment at which the
expedition was timed to start. George and his officers had fixed upon
two o'clock in the morning as the most suitable time for the attack upon
the town, and it was estimated that the run from the creek to Nombre,
under sail, would occupy about four hours; but in order to allow a small
margin for unforeseen contingencies it was arranged that the start
should be made at half-past nine o'clock in the evening; at nine
o'clock, therefore, all hands were called, and after partaking of a good
second supper which they found awaiting them, they were finally
inspected and ordered down into the boats, which pushed off from the
ship punctually at the moment arranged.

The creek in which the _Nonsuch_ rode concealed was so completely land-
locked that not a breath of air stirred within it as the boats left the
ship's side, the surface of the water was mirror-like in its absolute
placidity, and it was only when the men began to descend into the boats,
rocking them more or less as they entered them, and so sent a few
ripples undulating away across the glassy surface, or when some fish
stirred in the depths below, that the phosphorescence latent in the
black water awakened and sent forth little threads and evanescent gleams
of sea-fire. The complete absence of wind in the creek rendered it
necessary that the men should take to their oars when getting under way,
and then, indeed, as the blades dipped and rose, the placid surface
broke into swirling patches and streaks of brilliant light that enabled
the ship-keepers to watch their comrades' progress, and trace it until
the boats rounded the point and disappeared.

The calm continued until the boats had made an offing of about a quarter
of a mile, when the first faint breathings of the land breeze made
themselves felt, then the muffled oars were thankfully laid in, the
sails hoisted, and before a steadily strengthening breeze the boats
stood off the land upon a diagonal course which not only made the land
breeze a fair wind over the larboard quarter, but also carried them
toward Nombre while it swept them out toward where the trade-wind was
blowing. The boats sailed in line ahead; and when, as was soon the
case, their relative speeds had been determined, they were made fast in
a string by a stout warp, with the fastest boat leading and the rest
following in the order of the