y
heard that he was dead or even hurt. I'd rather lose my own right arm
any day, and my life too, than have them hear such a tale."

As soon as the boats returned, the fire from the frigate and corvette
knocked over the two field-pieces and several of the men who served
them, and the ships then proceeded up the harbour. The French troops,
as they did so, followed them along the shore, keeping, however, as well
as they could, concealed behind the inequalities of the ground, and only
occasionally halting and firing rapid volleys at them.

The corvette, and several brigs and schooners, and three armed luggers,
were soon seen either at anchor close to the beach or on shore. The
frigate could not venture to close with them, but the gallant little
_Gannet_, with the lead going, stood on till she had scarcely a foot of
water under her keel, and then, dropping an anchor with a spring to the
cable, so as to keep her broadside to the corvette, opened her fire.

The Frenchmen replied briskly enough at first; but as they occasionally
got a dose from the frigate's long guns, they gradually slackened in
their efforts to defend their ships, and finally were seen taking to
their boats and escaping on shore. Mr Nott instantly volunteered to
board and set fire to the corvette. He beckoned to True Blue, who flew
to the boats, which had been kept ready on the side of the ship away
from the shore. Within a minute, two boats were pulling under a hot
fire towards the French ship. True Blue and his companions speedily
climbed through her ports both fore and aft. They had brought abundance
of combustibles. These were instantly carried below, and, the most
inflammable materials being thrown together in piles along her lower
deck, were set on fire. The thick wreaths of smoke which ascended
assisted to conceal the party in their rapid retreat, the more rapid as
they could not tell at what moment a spark might enter the magazine and
blow them all into the air.

Back they pulled, and were on board the _Gannet_ once more, within five
minutes after they had left her side, not a man having been hurt, and
the work so thoroughly accomplished that the corvette was in a furious
blaze fore and aft, the flames already licking the heels of her topmasts
in their upward ascent.

All this time, the frigate astern and the lugger ahead of the _Gannet_
were keeping up a warm fire on the shore, to hold the troops in check.
They wisely concealed themse