had just encountered.

After having thus piously performed their religious duties, they set to
work to prepare the materials for a fire-ship, with which they purposed
to blow the English brig and all her crew to the devil. The storm had
soon spent its fury, and in the evening they again got under weigh, and
beat round to the south side of the island to the bay, where they had at
first intended anchoring, it being, by far the safest, as the wind was
very likely to shift round, and blow with almost equal violence down the
gulf. Among the islands of the Archipelago, the gales generally come
from the northward, and it is consequently considered always more
prudent to anchor under a southern shore. The pirates now recollected,
as they were congratulating themselves on their own escape, that the
English brig had been seen anchored in a bay to the south-west of the
island; and they began piously to hope that she might have been driven
on shore, and lost with all her hands, which would have saved them the
expense and trouble of fitting up their fire-ship, and the risk of
attempting to use it. Before, however, they took any steps in that
direction, Zappa determined to pull up into the bay, where she was
reported to have been, and to ascertain what she was, and her purpose in
coming there. By daylight next morning, for he was an early man when
work was to be done, he was prepared to set out on his expedition.

The bay where the _Zoe_ had anchored, was about five miles from where he
believed the British vessel was to be found, so he had a long pull
before him. His boat pulled eight oars, and he selected as many of the
strongest of his hands to man them. She was a clumsy-looking craft, and
did not appear as if any amount of force could drive her through the
water; indeed, she seemed to be a mere fishing-boat, such as are used in
those waters. He had the precaution also to pile up a couple of nets in
her bow and stern, and also to take on board a large supply of fish,
which he got from some fisherman of the place, so that nothing was
wanting to complete the deception; for he had taken care that all his
men should be habited in the ordinary fisherman's dress as he was
himself.

As the boat left the side of the mistico, she had, in every respect, the
appearance of one belonging to a harmless fisherman just returned from
his day's avocation. Although Zappa had with justice full confidence in
his own masquerading talents, he