n. Boxes
and bales were neatly ranged in her hold, and piles of elephants' tusks
were to be seen here and there. A large dark lanthorn threw a small
circle of light around, but beyond this all was darkness. Ten barrels
or kegs containing powder had been placed end on, near each other,
forming two tiers. Several had been broken open, and the wood loosely
replaced.

Walking carefully towards the pile, Hughes removed the head of a cask
and verified the contents. There lay the mass of black glittering
coarse grains, which were to send them to their doom. Seated on a heavy
case near was the Portuguese noble, and at his feet in prayer, her large
black eyes tearless and raised to heaven, kneeled Isabel, the dim light
just showing the two, as Dom Maxara leaned over his daughter, his grey
hair mingling with her raven tresses. Having replaced the heading of
the cask, the soldier looked to his pistols, examining the caps and the
lock, then replacing them, walked to Isabel's side and knelt down.

All seemed still on deck, and the noise of the rushing water could be
heard as the brig surged on through the seas. Half an hour passed, each
minute seeming an age; for it was a fearful thing to be caged there in
the darkness, knowing nothing of what was going on. Sometimes the
father's heavy sobs could not be restrained, as he leaned over his
daughter; but Isabel's eyes were dry, and she prayed fervently; the deep
darkness in which the hold lay out of the feeble rays of the lanthorn,
completing its resemblance to the tomb. A loud shout and a spattering
fire were indistinctly heard, telling that the last moment was near;
then the rushing sound of the wind as the brig heeled over before the
strength of the squall, two shots, a long cheer, with the words,
"Starboard! hard a-starboard!" shouted from the deck. Gasping Isabel in
his arms, Hughes rose calmly and deliberately; not a word passed, all
power of speech had left him. One kiss, one long last kiss, and he
strode calmly and deliberately towards the fatal pile. Passing his hand
over his eyes, he removed the heading and plunged his fingers into the
black mass. A loud shriek from Isabel rang out as she rushed across the
space which divided them, and threw herself into his arms. Rising, the
old noble steadied himself by a pile of cases, his eyes seemed glaring
out of their sockets as he strained them in the direction of the powder
casks. Then came a terrible shock, the crash