he night advanced, the wind
increased, and the dhow made rapid way through the water, steering after
Adair's prize. No moon was shining, clouds gathered in the sky, and the
night became darker than usual in those latitudes. Desmond was to keep
the first watch, with one man at the helm and another on the look-out;
while Archie lay down just inside the door of the cabin, with Jerry near
him, the other two men going forward.

"I'll sleep with one eye open, sir," said Jerry, "and will be up in a
moment if I'm wanted."

The Arab crew were sleeping about in groups on the deck, where they had
lain for some time, none of them having offered to lend a hand to do
anything. Desmond had been awake for the greater part of the previous
night, and, having undergone a good deal of excitement during the day,
it was no wonder that he found it difficult to keep his eyes open;
still, he did his best to watch a light which Adair had hung over the
stern of his prize, and, after looking for some time, he felt convinced
that they were slowly gaining on her. Every now and then he turned to
the man at the helm with some remark, and then shouted to the other
forward to keep a bright look-out. At length, however, the light ahead
began to flicker and dance, and now to grow larger, now to decrease,
till it was scarcely visible. He was holding fast on to the side of the
dhow, and found some support necessary. He looked up at the huge sail,
which, bulging out, seemed to grow larger and larger till it towered up
into the sky. Desmond was a very promising officer, but even the most
promising are made of flesh and blood, and require sleep to restore
exhausted nature. The most vigilant would not have found him nodding,
for he would have promptly answered with perfect correctness had he been
spoken to. Notwithstanding that, Gerald Desmond was certainly not broad
awake--or rather, he was as fast asleep as a midshipman standing on his
legs, with his eyes wide open, could be. His thoughts, too, were
wandering, now to Ballymacree, now to Commander Murray's home in the
Highlands, and now away to the West Indies, where he might still be for
all he knew.

Just then, suddenly he felt a cloth thrown over his eyes, and before he
could put up his hands to draw it away, he found his arms pinioned
behind him. The same instant he heard Archie and Jerry Bird sing out,
and the man at the helm struggling desperately with a number of the
Arabs, while from eve