springing desperately onward.

Several of the corvette's crew, headed by Tom Marline, followed him, Tom
shouting, "Hurrah, lads, hurrah! We mustn't let our True Blue be made
prisoner."

The French, who had already had a sufficient taste of the English
seamen's quality, hurriedly retreated for a few yards, keeping up,
however, a galling fire. They then waited till the reinforcement came
up, and left Elmore unmolested. This gave time to True Blue to spring
forward and lift him in his arms, and to run back with him through
showers of bullets among his shipmates before the enemy could recover
their prisoner.

Sir Henry, though suffering great pain, was perfectly conscious.
"Thanks, my brave friend--thanks Freeborn!" he exclaimed; "you've again
saved me from worse than death. But now, my lads, back to our boats; we
shall do nothing now, I fear."

The boats only just then reached the beach, and True Blue had but bare
time to spring with his charge into the first, which proved to be their
own, when the French troops came charging down upon them. The last man
to leave the beach was the officer of marines, who, like a true soldier,
retreated with his face to the foe amidst thick showers of bullets. He
had just stepped into one of the boats, when he fell back into the arms
of the Captain with a cry, shot through the body. He was lifted up and
placed in the sternsheets.

"Shove off! shove off!" cried the officer.

The sailors shoved away with their oars, while the marines stood up with
their muskets, returning the fire of the enemy, desirous to punish them
for the loss of their officer. One marine and two seamen had fallen,
and several men were wounded. In another minute they would with
difficulty have got off, for, in the rear of the reinforcement, there
came rattling along two small field-pieces.

The boats were afloat, the men pulled away with all their might and were
soon on board the ships. True Blue would allow no one but himself to
carry the young lieutenant below to his cabin. Of course he had to
return to his duty on deck, for there was hot work going on; but he
stood anxiously waiting till he could hear the surgeon's report.

"Ah, mates!" he said to Fid and Hartland, and other friends stationed
near him, "if you had seen, as I have, young Sir Henry at home, and how
her ladyship, his mother, and sisters loved him and made much of him,
you would understand what a killing blow it would be to them if the