us so
closely that it was manifestly imperative upon us to shift our berth
without loss of time. Giving orders, therefore, that the spare mizzen
should be bent and set, and the craft brought to once more--but on the
starboard tack this time, so as to afford us an opportunity to knot the
shrouds on the larboard side, carried away by the French frigate--I left
little Smellie and Tom Hardy on deck to see to its execution; and,
summoning the assistant-surgeon to my aid, retired below to have my
wounded arm coopered up.

My friend Sawbones had just arrived at that stage of his operations
which required him to torture me almost beyond my powers of endurance by
grinding the two broken bone-ends together to get them in proper
position, when we felt a violent concussion, accompanied by a loud
explosion on deck, speedily followed by vociferous cheering; and the
next moment down trundled that young scamp Smellie, his face beaming all
over with a broad grin, as he exclaimed,--

"Hurrah, Chester, I've done it! Did it _myself_, Hardy will tell you
so."

"Did _what_, for goodness' sake?" groaned I, as the medico, under the
influence of a terrific roll, gave my arm a most awful wrench. "What
did you fire for?"

"Fired at the Frenchman, of course," replied he, somewhat disconcerted.
"I understood that you agreed we should have a shot at him, so we gave
him one from long Tom. I pointed the gun myself; and--only fancy!--
knocked away his mizzen-topmast, which brought down his main-topgallant-
mast with it; and there he is now in a pretty mess. My eye! _that_ was
a close one," he added, as a twelve-pound shot sung close over our
heads, without hitting anything however.

"It sounds remarkably as though he were anxious to return the
compliment, if he can," said I. "You had better go on deck again and
hurry the men up with that mizzen; and round-to as soon as you possibly
can. If one of those shot happen to plump on board us we shall probably
have cause to remember the circumstance."

The lad darted up the companion-way again, three stairs at a time; and
very shortly afterwards I heard him shout down to me,--

"I say, Chester, the mizzen is bent and all ready for setting; shall we
hoist away?"

"Watch for a good opportunity," I shouted back, "and as soon as it
comes, down with your helm, and sway up the sail at the same time."

"Ay, ay; we will do so," was the response.

A few minutes elapsed; and then I felt the little c