f them all. Gliding
alongside, we stepped softly on board. Her crew were, as we expected,
asleep, and before they had opened their eyes we had our hands on their
throats and our knees on their bosoms. As there were only three men and
a boy, we easily mastered them; and, having bound and gagged them, we
put them into the forepeak, while we proceeded to haul up the anchor and
get the vessel under way.

As soon as we could attend to our prisoners, we made signs to them that
we would not hurt them; and I fancied that they considered themselves
very fortunate in not having their throats cut, or being thrown
overboard, by those terrible monsters, "_les betes Anglais_." There was
a light air off the shore, and, with very great satisfaction, we stood
away from it. Anxiously we looked towards the coast we were leaving,
but, as far as our eyes could pierce the gloom, we could not discover
any vessel in pursuit of us. Still we were not free from danger, as we
were likely enough to fall in with a French vessel, and again find
ourselves prisoners. Mr Ronald, who was as kind and thoughtful as he
was brave, told me to go to sleep; but my arm gave me too much pain to
allow me to do so.

The hours of night passed by, and day dawned; the bright sun arose on a
cloudless sky. The coast of France rose in blue ridges astern of us,
but not a sail was in sight all round the horizon. As our prospect of
escaping recapture improved, our appetites, which we had not thought
about, reminded us that we had gone a long time without eating; but when
we came to examine the fishermen's lockers, we found only a little black
bread aboard, and a most scanty supply of water. They made us
understand that their boat had gone on shore with some of their comrades
to bring off water and provisions. Mr Ronald insisted on preserving
most of the water for me, as a fever was already on me, and I was
suffering dreadfully from thirst.

The wind was very light, and we made but little way. As the sun rose,
however, clouds began to collect to the northward, and the sky overhead
became covered over with those long wavy white lines which go by the
name of "mares' tails," and which always betoken wind. Still we stood
on as before. Every now and then, however, a puff would come which
threw the sails aback; but it quickly passed away, to be succeeded
shortly by a stronger and more continuous one. At last the breeze
headed us altogether, freshening up rapidly,