y_ was to be
seen. Harry was a good swimmer, and fortunately the dispatch-box which
he grasped was water-tight, and buttoning it within his jacket he felt
that it kept his head easily above the water. He swam as well as he
could away from the spot where the Lucy had disappeared, for he knew
that if Black Jack or the Frenchman had escaped being run down and
should see him, his death was certain--not indeed that his chances
were in any case good, but with the natural hopefulness of boyhood he
clung to life, and resolved to make a fight for it as long as
possible. Had it not been for the dispatch-box he must have speedily
succumbed, for in so heavy a sea it was difficult in the extreme to
swim. However, after a short time he turned his back to the wind, and
suffered himself quietly to drift.

Hour passed after hour, and at last, to his intense delight, morning
began to break. He saw on his right the low shores of the French
coast, and looking round beheld seaward the British cruiser which had
fired at the _Chasse Maree_. She was running quietly along the coast,
and was evidently on guard at the mouth of the river. The sea had now
gone down much, and the sun rose bright in an almost cloudless sky.

Invigorated by the sight of the vessel Harry at once swam towards her.
She was farther out by a mile than the spot where he was swimming, and
was some two miles astern of him. She was sailing but slowly, and he
hoped that by the time she came along he would be able to get within
a distance whence he might be seen. His fear was that she might run
back before she reached the spot where she would be nearer to him.

With all his strength he swam steadily out, keeping his eye fixed
steadily on the ship. Still she came onward, and was within half a
mile when she was abreast of him. Then raising himself as high as he
could from the water, he shouted at the top of his voice. Again and
again he splashed with his hands to make as much spray and commotion
as possible in order to attract attention. His heart almost stood
still with joy as he heard an answering hail, and a moment later he
saw the vessel come round into the wind, and lay there with her sails
back. Then a boat was lowered, and five minutes later he was hauled
in, his senses almost leaving him now that the time for exertion had
passed. It was not until he had been lifted onto the deck of the
_Viper_, and brandy had been poured down his throat, that he was able
to speak. As so