have made a fool of me more than once, it is my turn Go down below to your cabin."

now.

"You command me in my own ship! Carramba ! You are brave. Go back to your boat, or I will send your soul to hell!"

As he said this the Spaniard drew a pistol from the breast-pocket of his coat, which he was in the act of presenting at Tom's head, when the latter suddenly ducked, and jumping forward, seized the Spaniard round the waist and threw him, while the pistol went off, the bullet going through the cap of the coxswain of the cutter, who was standing in the gangway watching the proceedings.

In an instant the crew of the cutter jumped out of the boat, and were on the deck of the brigantine with drawn cutlasses. This sudden display of force had a very salutary effect, for all the crew of the brigantine were armed, and had there been any delay, there is little doubt they would have resisted the cutter's crew coming on board their vessel. Tom's forethought in making the men buckle their cutlasses round their waists had very probably saved blood being shed, if not loss of life.

Although the crew of the brigantine outnumbered that of the cutter, they did not offer any resistance. They stood muttering together forward, doubtful what to do, unable to take any particular line of action without direction from superior authority, and perfectly bewildered since Tom had floored the Captain.

"Give me a piece of rope to secure this man," said Tom.

The coxswain cut off a piece of the signal halyards, and with it they lashed the Spanish Captain's arms behind his back at the elbows. Then, followed by his men, Tom went forward and ordered the crew to give up their arms. The disciplined force had a strong moral effect, though it is very likely if the Spaniards had risked a contest they would have come off victors. The fierce-looking blue-jackets with their

shining blades had very little knowledge of using them, and one good swordsman would probably have routed the crowd.

The method of teaching cutlass drill in the service is of the crudest description, and is calculated to deprive the men of a certain amount of rude skill innate in everybody, without supplying them with any equivalent.

Fortunately the Spaniards did not know this, and sulkily they threw down their swords; and, on a further demand from Tom, dispossessed themselves of some very formidable-looking knives. They were then ordered below into the forepeak, and, when there, the hatch was secured and a man put over it as sentry.

It was now quite dusk, and as Tom turned to walk aft he fancied he saw somebody disappear over the side; he could not be sure in the uncertain light, but, as his faculties were tense with the unusual responsibility, each trifling detail assumed the magnitude of importance. He ran aft and looked over the side. He saw the Spanish Captain, whom he had left secured, in the cutter with his arms unbound, and two other men with him.

These were the two mates, who had been below when the cutter came alongside, and remained there until they heard Tom go forward with his crew; then, coming up from below, they released the Captain, and the three got into the cutter, and were about to make off with her when Tom observed them.

One man was in the act of cutting the boat-rope which held the cutter to the brigantine, another was getting the sail ready to hoist, while the Captain had taken the helm.

Without waiting to go down the steps Tom jumped into the boat, taking the precaution to land on the man getting the sail ready, so as to break his fall.

He escaped unhurt himself, but the Spaniard was knocked into a heap between the thwarts.

The Spanish Captain unshipped the tiller-a long,

heavy one made of ash-and aimed a blow at Tom's head, which the latter parried with his arm, and before the Captain had time to strike him again Tom had seized him in a gripe which was becoming notorious, and, lifting him up bodily, threw him overboard.

Picking up the tiller, which the Captain had dropped, Tom turned forward to deal with the third

man.

The latter had succeeded in cutting the boat-rope and shoving the cutter off. Seeing how Tom had disposed of the other two, the mate knew he might expect no favour. He was a big, repulsive-looking brute, and as he advanced towards Tom with his long sheath-knife in his hand, was a very formidablelooking adversary; but Tom's blood was up, he aimed a blow at the knife with the tiller, and hitting the mate on his wrist, sent the knife flying into the stern sheets. The mate sprang aft to recover it, and, dropping the tiller, Tom hit him with his fist between the eyes and knocked him backwards on to the afterthwart before the mate had time to recover himself Tom seized the end of the foresheet, which was lying there, and, passing several turns round the man's neck, securely lashed him to the thwart.

The cutter had by this time drifted quite clear of the brigantine. Her crew were watching their officer's encounter with breathless excitement, but seemed too paralysed to take any action.

The whole affair had taken so short a time that they had scarcely realised that an attempt was being made to carry off their boat. They were so accustomed to look to their officers for guidance in any emergency that it took them some time to think and act for themselves, and there was not one amongst them who would not have placed more faith and reliance in Tom-who was the youngest in the boatthan in the oldest petty officer on board the Briseis.

Inversely, the more difficult and the more dangerous the situation, the more developed did the expertness

M

of the young midshipmen, placed in responsible positions, become; and it seldom happened that a young officer, suddenly placed in a critical situation, did not rise to the occasion, and astonish himself and every one with his management of affairs.

The cutter's crew had not long to wait for orders. from Tom.

Finding he could not pull the cutter up to the brigantine single-handed-for his arm, which had been struck with the tiller, was very painful-he hailed two of the men to jump overboard and come to him.

Quickly divesting themselves of their clothes they did so, and, shortly afterwards, the boat was again alongside the Silvia.

They passed the two mates up the side and confined them with the rest of the crew in the forepeak, then, discovering the Spanish Captain hanging on to the rudder pendant astern, they hoisted him in, and sent him below with the others, a piece of indiguity he strongly resented.

Having secured the cutter astern, with a boatkeeper in her, Tom reduced sail on board the Silvia, and shaped a course that would take them back to their cruising ground; but as the wind was very light, the brigantine had little more than steerage way.

He then betook himself to the Captain's cabin and made a thorough inspection. He discovered a locker full of wine, and a cupboard containing some cold provisions. Being very hungry he commenced laying out the table with all the eatables he could find, and was about to set to when the coxswain of the cutter, a man named Meade, appeared at the door.

"Here you are, Mr. Marston," he said, "we found a big pot of hash-my-gandy in the galley, and I have brought you down a basin of it," producing at the same time a bowl containing a savoury mess of stewed chicken.

"There's plenty to eat on board of here," continued the coxswain. "There's a coop full of chickens, another of ducks, and two live sheep."

"Have the men got any liquor?" asked Tom.

"Oh, yes, sir. There's a cask of rot-gut on tap forward.""

"Well, I don't mind them having a drink; but I look to you, Meade, not to let any one get drunk, for so sure as they do, so help me God I will flog them, if I have to do it with my own hands. And when I say it I mean it."

"All right, sir, I'll take care of that; but that stuff wouldn't hurt a baby at the breast."

"Don't you be so certain of that, it's stronger than you think."

Dismissing the coxswain with a nod of his head, Tom sat down and ate a good meal, washing it down with some very good wine obtained from the Captain's locker. Then having taken one of the Captain's cigars he went on deck for a smoke, and to have a look round. Having seen all right for the night, and given orders to be called on any change, he again went below, and stretching himself out on the cushioned lockers, he was soon fast asleep.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A DOUBLE EVENT

Ar four o'clock in the morning Tom was roused by Meade, the coxswain, who reported that the look-out had seen a rocket fired, and he thought it must be from the first cutter.

Tom started up, and immediately went on deck. The look-out man pointed out the direction of the rocket, which was a point on the lee bow, and