ate, perhaps?"

"No," answered Paul and True Blue in a breath. "What has happened to
her?"

"The fortune of war, my friends," answered the Frenchman. "She fell in
with our consort, _La Nymphe_ of forty guns, and engaged her bravely for
three hours. For which side victory would have declared is doubtful,
when we appeared in sight. Just then, awful to relate, whether by
design or not I cannot say, she blew up with a loud explosion, wounding
and killing many on board _La Nymphe_. Not one man escaped of all her
crew."

"Oh, mate, do you speak the truth?" exclaimed Paul, starting up and
seizing the Frenchman by the hand.

"Why should I deceive you, my friend?" answered the republican, putting
his other hand on his bosom. "I know how to pity a brave enemy, believe
me."

Paul lay back on his bed and placed both his hands before his eyes,
while a gasping sob showed how much True Blue felt the sad news.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

The account of the destruction of the _Ruby_ soon spread among the
English prisoners. At first the two midshipmen especially would not
credit it; but the date of the alleged occurrence answered exactly with
that of the day when Johnny Nott parted with her and saw her standing
towards an enemy's ship, and heard the firing at the commencement of the
action.

"They do not even boast that they took her, or that she had hauled down
her flag before she blew up," he observed. "If they had done so, we
might have doubted them. I'm afraid their account is too true."

"I am afraid so, indeed," responded Elmore mournfully; "so many fine
fellows lost. Our brave skipper Garland, he is a public loss. They do
not say that a single officer was saved."

Thus the midshipmen talked on. They almost forgot their own misfortunes
and abominable ill-treatment while thinking of their friends. Some
coarse bread and cheese was handed to them in a dirty basket, and water
was the only liquid given them to drink; while at night no bedding nor
the slightest accommodation was afforded them. In vain the officers
pleaded. The men to whom they spoke only laughed and jeered at them,
and poor young Elmore only came in for a greater share of abuse when by
some means it was discovered that he was what they called an English
aristocrat.

"Ah, milord!" exclaimed one fellow with a horrid grin; "if we had you in
_la belle France_, your head would not remain long on your shoulders.
We guillotine all such. It's the best w