men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"

"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew was
eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
slightly wounded, to look after."

"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge of
them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
to undertake any cruises on your own account."

"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up with
you."

A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
considering the _Sea-horse__ to be a fast vessel, in spite of the evidence
that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:

"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go two
feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If you
put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
to lose sight of it."

A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
stern of the _Sea-horse__. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed over
them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours, by