l the brig had her
mainsail set, and with the gale there was blowing, that was sufficient
after-canvas for her to carry with advantage. She ceased firing.
"Hurrah! she is going to strike," we exclaimed; but the wreck of the
maintop-mast was quickly cleared away, and she commenced again with
greater briskness than ever. In return, the corvette plied her fast and
furiously with shot, which must have told pretty severely among her
people on deck, though, of course, we could not see the damage which was
done. The brig was within a quarter of a mile of the mouth of the
harbour. It was high-tide, but we well knew that there was not water
sufficient on the bar to allow the corvette to enter. Still, on she
boldly came in hot chase.

"She cannot surely fancy that she can venture in," exclaimed Captain
Gale. "She'll be lost to a certainty if she does. Poor fellows! not
one will escape with their lives should she strike. Carr, we must run
out, and try and pick some of them up, at all hazards. The wind is
sufficiently to the northward to carry us clear, and the people on shore
are so engaged in watching the chase, that they will not observe us
getting under way till we are clear from the guns of the castle."

"Ay, ay, sir, with all my heart," answered the mate. "I'm not quite
certain that the brig will get scot-free either."

As he spoke, I saw a thick smoke ascending from the deck of the rover.

"She's on fire! she's on fire!" shouted several of us. But then we
thought of poor Stenning, and what would become of him.

"All hands make sail," cried the captain, descending on deck. "We must
slip, Mr Carr. There's no time for heaving up the anchor."

The crew could scarcely refrain from giving vent to their feelings of
excitement in a shout.

"Silence, my lads; we must not let the Moors know what we are about."

Never did a crew let fall the topsails with greater good-will than we
did. We had kept two reefs in them for an emergency. I now saw the
wisdom of the captain's forethought when he gave the order, as some time
before we had loosed sails.

We were riding with the ship's head towards the mouth of the river, the
tide still running in. Thus, being strongly manned with willing hearts,
we were soon under way. No one from the shore observed us, or, at all
events, came off to stop us. Sidy, the interpreter, was fortunately on
shore, so that we had no trouble about him, and the captain knew that he
could easi