soon as we made out what that craft there was."

The doctor hesitated still--a violent struggle was going on in his mind.
He passed his hand across his brow. "Yes, it must be done. Keep her
away, and make all sail," he exclaimed.

Scarcely was the helm put up, and a large square-sail of light canvas
the little schooner carried hoisted, when the stranger seemed to observe
our presence. We had not run on for ten minutes when her head came
slowly round towards us, her square-topsails were hoisted up, her
foresail was rigged out, a square-sail was set, and after us she came
like a greyhound in chase of a hare.

"What chance have we, do you think, of getting away from her, Mr
Stone?" said Jerry, pointing to the big schooner, which was coming up
hand over hand after us.

Stone, who was at the helm, looked over his shoulder at the stranger.
"Why, none whatever, Mr Frankland," he answered, after a minute's
deliberation.

"Then I do not see much use in running away," observed Jerry. "If we
are to be killed, let us be killed at once, and have it over."

"No, sir; as Mr Callard says, it's our duty to strive as long as we
can. Our lives are in the hand of God. He may find means to enable us
to escape, though we do not in our blindness see them. Perhaps it may
fall a dead calm, and we may make use of our sweeps; or a squall may
spring up and carry away the stranger's masts; or another vessel may
heave in sight, and she may think it wise to slip out of the way."

"I see that you are right, Mr Stone," answered Jerry. "But I wonder,
if they do catch us, what they will do to us all?"

"Cut the throats of every mother's son of us," he answered, quite
calmly. "I've often thought of death, and I am prepared to die, for I
trust in One who is mighty to save my soul alive. Have you the same
hope, young gentleman? I trust you have. It's my duty as a fellow man
to urge you to lay hold of it. There's nothing else will save us,
depend on that. From what I heard your officer, Mr Brand, say, I know
on what he trusted, and I hope he has not failed to speak to you about
the same matter."

"Ay, he spoke to us in a way we ought never to have forgotten, once when
we were drifting out to sea on the bottom of a boat, and we had little
chance of being saved; and then he swam off, at the still greater risk
of his own life, to save ours," answered Jerry.

"I knew that he was just the man to do that sort of thing. He was a
Christian