fast
was then scrambled through; after which the long-boat and the gig, under
the command of Courtenay and the boatswain, with their crews fully
armed, pulled away for the shore, to see whether they could discover
anything like a depot, of which no sign whatever could be detected from
the deck of the schooner.

They pulled inshore about a quarter of a mile, after which we suddenly
lost sight of them among the mangroves which thickly fringed the shores
of the island. Three or four minutes later the sound of musketry
firing, at first in whole volleys and then intermittingly, floated off
to us from the direction where the boats had disappeared, and very soon
we saw the light wreaths of pale-blue smoke floating up and out from
among the trees. The firing soon ceased; and then nothing more was
heard or seen for nearly two hours, at the end of which time a thin
volume of light brownish smoke rose into the sky from about the spot
where we had before seen the indications of musketry firing; the smoke,
rapidly increasing in volume and deepening in colour until, thickly
besprinkled with sparks, it poured across the bay in one vast dense
black cloud which swept right over us where we lay, half suffocating us
with its pungent fumes, and almost hiding the islands from sight. Then,
when the smoke-cloud had become almost intolerable, the boats were seen
approaching; upon which the schooner was hove short and the canvas set
in readiness for a speedy retreat from our uncomfortable berth. The
moment that they came alongside the anchor was tripped, and, by the time
that the boat's crews were once more on the schooner's decks, we had run
out clear of the nuisance. The _Foam_ was then hove to; seven
singularly heavy kegs were hoisted in from the long-boat; the boats
themselves next followed; and then away we went, groping our way as
before, back toward the main channel from the sea. This channel was
successfully traversed and the open sea reached about three bells in the
afternoon watch, when I turned over the command of the schooner to
Courtenay and went below to my berth, not only dead tired, but also
suffering dreadfully from the wound in my head, which had not been
dressed for nearly twenty-four hours, and which was certainly none the
better for the excitement and exposure of the preceding night. Previous
to this, though, I had been fully informed of what had transpired on
shore; and which may be related in a very few words.

I