bearing down to lend us a helping hand, when our cheer of
victory announced to him that his assistance was no longer necessary.

We now set to work to clap the whole of our prisoners in irons, a task
in the execution of which I anticipated a considerable amount
difficulty; but, fortunately for us, they seemed to have had quite as
much fighting as they cared for, and therefore submitted with a
tolerably good grace--or, perhaps, I ought rather to say with the apathy
of hardened men fully conscious of the fact that further resistance was
utterly unavailing. This task completed, and the whole of the captured
pirates transferred to the hold of the big felucca--round the open
hatchway of which four of her brass nine-pounders were ranged, loaded
with langridge, within view of our prisoners, and their muzzles
depressed so that they pointed right down into the interior of the
hold--our next business was to land a party for the purpose of securing
whatever booty could be found, and afterwards to destroy the various
buildings and stores of the depot. As yet we had detected no sign of
life anywhere on shore; the pirates seemed, one and all, to have betaken
themselves to their craft, apparently confident of their ability with
them to achieve an easy victory over us in the--to them--unlikely event
of our forcing a passage through the various obstructions which they had
prepared for us at different parts of the channel; but notwithstanding
this apparent absence of foes on shore I deemed it best to send a very
strong party, fully armed of course, under Courtenay's command. The
entire force of the expedition, with the exception of six hands which I
retained on board our biggest prize to keep an eye on the prisoners, was
accordingly sent away in the launch--now, unhappily, in consequence of
our numerous casualties, of ample capacity to accommodate the men
composing it--and ten minutes later we who were left behind had the
satisfaction of witnessing its unopposed landing. The launch, with two
boat-keepers in her, was shoved off a few fathoms from the beach; and
the remainder of the party, led by Courtenay, headed at once for the
buildings which crowned the highest spot in the little island.

They reached their destination unmolested, broke up into parties which
entered the various buildings, and, after an interval of some twenty
minutes, reappeared, each man loaded with evidently as much as he could
carry. The spoil--or whatever it w