t. The doctor, I saw by
his manner, was seriously alarmed about the party, though he said
nothing to us. We fancied that we heard a hail, and then a shout and a
cry; but we could not quite agree about it. We kept pacing the deck
anxiously, tacking as we had been directed by Mr Brand; and thus the
night wore on, and dawn once more broke over the world of waters.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

CAPTURED BY PIRATES.

Daylight increased; and as the sun, like a vast ball of fire, rose
slowly above the horizon, the mist lifted as if it had been a curtain
from off the surface of the water, rolling away in huge wreaths of
vapour before the breeze. The wind had once more hauled round to the
southward, and then away to the westward, when, beneath an arch of
clouds, we saw two vessels alongside each other. One was a schooner, a
fine, rakish-looking craft; the other a large brig. The latter had her
royals and top-gallant-sails flying loose, her topsails were on the
caps, her courses were hauled up, her yards were braced here and there;
indeed, she presented a picture of most complete confusion. Her
appearance would too plainly have told us that something wrong had taken
place, even had we not heard the cries in the night. In vain we looked
round on every side for the dinghy; she was nowhere to be seen. We
examined the vessels through a spy-glass we had with us. She was not
visible alongside either of them. Again and again we swept the horizon,
but not a speck could we discover that might be her. "What is to be
done?" exclaimed Jerry in a tone of deep grief. I too felt very sorry
for fear harm had happened to Cousin Silas; nor did I forget Ben and the
Sandwich islander. "Hallo! hallo! Look there! what is happening now?"
Jerry added. We looked. The schooner had parted a little distance from
the brig, and the latter vessel, after rolling once or twice to
starboard and port, seemed to dip her bows into the sea. We gazed
earnestly with a sickening feeling. Her bowsprit did not rise again.
Down, down she went, slowly and calmly, as if making a voluntary plunge
to the depths of the ocean. The water closed over her decks, her lower
masts disappeared, her topmasts followed, and the loose sails for a
moment floated above the spot where she had been, and then sank also,
drawn down by the halliards beneath the waters.

We felt almost stupified with horror. Combining the shrieks we had
heard and the occurrence we had just witne