the interregnum between the unshipping of poor Donovan and Lanyard's appointment.
"What is that abeam of us?" said Mr. Sprawl, who had now come on deck.—"Hand me up the night-glass, Jeremy."
He worked away with it for some time. At length Lanyard spoke.
"Why, Sprawl, will you have the kindness to fire a gun, and show a light at the mizen peak, as the felucca must be hereabouts?"
"True enough, Lanyard, she cannot be far off, but"——Here we saw another flash, and this time we heard the report of the cannon—"There," continued the first lieutenant—"there she is, sure enough; but how the devil can you expect her to come up to us, seeing she is cut off by that large craft there?" And he pointed a-beam of us, where, following the direction indicated, I soon saw a large vessel, standing under easy sail, on the same tack.
"Quartermaster," exclaimed Sprawl, "keep her away, and edge down towards that chap, will ye?"
The commodore was now on deck.
"I was on the point of reporting to you, sir, that the felucca was a good way off to leeward, apparently cut off by a strange sail, that is sculling along right between us," said David Doublepipe.
"Whereabouts," said the captain, "whereabouts is this strange sail? And why the deuce did the felucca not fire a gun?"
"She did, sir," answered the lieutenant, "but I could not divine what she would be at, as she did not make the night-signal."
"True enough," said Lanyard.—"I daresay all the signals and instructions, and every thing else, are locked up on board, sir. May I therefore request the favour of your standing down to her, or I don't see how we shall manage at all?"
The weather now cleared, and the fog rose, or blew past. Another flash down to leeward, in the direction of the felucca, and presently she burned a blue light, which cast a lurid wake on the rolling waters, cresting the sparkling waves with a wavering line of unearthly light. It lit up the little vessel and her white sail, and the whole horizon in her neighbourhood, with a blue ghostly glare, across which, as a bright background, we suddenly saw the tall spars, dark sails, and opake hull of a large polacre brig intervene, as she gradually slid along, rising and falling majestically on the midnight sea, between us and the tender.
"Ah ha!" said the commodore. "Why, Master Brail, your retreat is cut off, and all the honour and glory will be gathered by the Midges without you, for there the brig is bearing up—there, she has made us out, and if the little fellows don't get out of her way, she will run them down."
The black bank in the east now broke away, the newly risen moon shone out bright and suddenly, and we distinctly saw the polacre crowding all sail from us, with the gallant little Midge to leeward of him about half a mile, under easy sail, apparently waiting for him, and standing directly across the bows of his large antagonist, into which he once more fired his long gun, and then as he came down, he luffed up, and hove a capful of grape into him from his howitzer. The chase up to this time had not fired a shot, but continued to crowd all sail, the little fellow now sticking in his skirts like a bur.
The night began to lower again; the wind fell from a fine working breeze to nearly calm, and the rain soon began to descend in torrents. At length it became stark calm, and as dark as the shrouded moon would let it. But every now and then we could see a tiny flash in the south-east, that for a moment lit up the outline of the black sail of the felucca, making the sweeps and figures of the men that pulled them appear as black as ebony between us and the flash of the forwardmost gun, which, on the other hand, glanced brightly against the stern, sparkled in the windows, and lighted up the snow-white sails of the brig, in pursuit of which the felucca had again bore up; the wreaths of smoke rising and surrounding both vessels, like a luminous cloud, or a bright halo. Presently the peppering of musketry commenced from the Midge, which showed she was overhauling the strange sail, and was immediately returned from the chase, who now lowered his jolly-boat, and began to fire for the first time from his stern chasers. This was in turn brilliantly replied to by the felucca, when all at once the dark lateen sail came down between us and the bright flashes by the run; on which her fire ceased, the breeze sprung up again, and all was dark. We stood on for ten minutes, when we saw a light right ahead, and before we could shorten sail, were alongside of the felucca—the little vessel, now a confused heap of black wreck, appearing to slide past us like an object seen from a carriage window when travelling rapidly; although it was the frigate that was in motion, while the Midge lay like a log on the water. Presently the wee midshipman—Master Binnacle, who had returned on board of her, as ordered, early in the evening—hailed.
"He is too big for us, sir; he has shot away our main haul-yards, and hurt three of our men."
"Heave the ship to," said the commodore; "and, Mr. Lanyard, go on board with a boat's crew, take the carpenter with you, and see what is wrong. Keep close by us till morning; or here—take him in tow, Mr. Sprawl,"—to the first lieutenant—"take him in tow."
We went on board Dick's forlorn command, and found the little vessel a good deal cut up, in hulls, sails, and rigging, and three Midges wounded, but none of them seriously. They were sent on board the frigate, which made all sail in chase, but next morning, when the day broke, all that we could see of the polacre was a small white speck of her royal, like the wing of a sea-gull, on our leebow; presently she vanished entirely.
The breeze continued to freshen, and we carried on; in the afternoon we made the land, near the mouth of the river we had been blockading, and after having run in as close as we thought safe, we hove-to for the night, determined to finish the adventure on the morrow.
By day-break, we were close in with the mouth of the estuary, but we could see nothing of the polacre, and as the climate was none of the wholesomest, we were making up our minds to be off again before the night fell; when a canoe was seen coming down the muddy flow of the river, which, even a mile or more at sea, preserved its thick brown chocolate colour; with a square blanket for a sail, and manned by half a dozen naked negroes. She approached, and a rope was hove to her, when she sheered alongside, and the steersman came on board. He was a wild uncultivated savage, and apparently did not understand a word of English, Spanish, or French, but by signs we enquired of him if he had seen any thing of the brig we were pursuing? He indicated, after his manner, that a big canoe had run up the river with that morning's tide, and was now at anchor above the reach in sight. However, his only object appeared to be to sell his yams and fruit, with which his boat was loaded. And after he had done so, and we had gotten all the information we could out of him, he shoved off; and we prepared to ascend the river in the felucca, reinforced by ten supernumeraries from the frigate, and accompanied by three of her boats, manned with thirty men and fourteen marines, under the command of Mr. Sprawl, in order to overhaul our friend of the preceding evening.
[1] A broad red swallow-tailed flag, carried at the main-royal masthead, indicative of the rank of commodore.
[2] A sham wooden gun.
CHAPTER II.
THE ATTACK.
We stood in, and as we approached I went aloft on the little stump of a mast to look about me. The leaden-coloured sea generally becomes several shades lighter in tropical countries as you approach the shore, unless the latter be regularly up and down, and deep close to. In the present instance, however, although it gradually shoaled, the blue water, instead of growing lighter and greener, and brightening in its approach
