her encumbered condition prevented any return. At
last the night hid both vessels from each other; and the breeze
freshening fast, it was necessary that the remaining masts of the
_Windsor Castle_ should be properly secured. The guns were therefore
abandoned; and during the time the seamen were employed in knotting the
rigging and bending the spare sails, Newton consulted with his brother
officers, who were unanimous in agreeing that all had been done that
could be expected, and that to wait till the ensuing day, when the
corvette would have repaired her damages, would be attended with a risk
of capture, which the valuable property entrusted to their charge would
never authorise. It was not until past midnight that the _Windsor
Castle_ was in a condition to make sail; but long before this, Newton
had contrived to leave the deck for a few minutes to communicate with
Isabel. With most of the particulars, and with the death of Captain
Oughton, she had already been made acquainted; and if there could be any
reward to Newton, for his gallantry and his prudence, more coveted than
another, it was the affectionate greeting with which he was welcomed and
congratulated by Isabel, her eyes beaming with tears of delight as they
glanced from his face, and were shrouded on the deck.

Love and murder make a pretty mixture, although as antithetical as the
sweet and acid in punch,--a composition which meets the approbation of
all sensible, discriminating people. But I shall leave the reader to
imagine all he pleases, and finish the chapter by informing him that,
when the sun again made his appearance, the corvette was not to be
discovered from the mast-head. The guns were therefore properly
secured; the decks washed; a jury mizzen-mast stuck up abaft; Captain
Oughton, and the gallant fellows who had fallen in the combat, committed
to the deep with the usual ceremonies; the wounded made as comfortable
as possible in their hammocks; the carpenters busied with the necessary
repairs; and the _Windsor Castle_, commanded by Newton Forster, running
before a spanking breeze, at the rate of eight knots per hour.

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Ships are but boards, sailors but men;
There be land rats, and water rats, water thieves,
And land thieves; I mean pirates.
SHAKESPEARE.

Most prophetical was the remark made by Newton Forster to Isabel
previous to the action; to wit, that it would make or mar him. The
death of Cap