carried hard, in order to avoid her. The weather was thick, and it blew
fresh, occasionally, in squalls. Whenever it lulled, the felucca gained on
us, we having, a very little, the advantage in the puffs. At length the
felucca began to fire; and, finding that his shot were coming pretty near,
Captain Johnston, knowing that he was in ballast, thought it wisest to
heave-to. Ten minutes after our main-top-sail was aback, the felucca ranged
up close under our lee; hailed, and ordered us to send a boat, with our
papers, on board her. A more rascally-looking craft never gave such an
order to an unarmed merchantman. As our ship rose on a sea, and he fell
into the trough, we could look directly down upon his decks, and thus form
some notion of what we were to expect, when he got possession of us. His
people were in red caps and shirts, and appeared to be composed of the
rakings of such places as Gibraltar, Cadiz and Lisbon. He had ten long
guns; and pikes, pistols and muskets, were plenty with him. On the end of
each latine-yard was a chap on the look-out, who occasionally turned his
eyes towards us, as if to anticipate the gleanings. That we should be
plundered, every one expected; and it was quite likely we might be
ill-treated. As soon as we hove-to, Captain Johnston gave me the best
spy-glass, with orders to hand it to Cooper, to hide. The latter buried it
in the shingle ballast. We, in the cabin, concealed a bag of guineas so
effectually, that, after all was over, we could not find it ourselves.

The jolly-boat had been stowed in the launch, on account of the rough
weather we had expected to meet, and tackles had to be got aloft before we
could hoist it out. This consumed some time, during which there was a
lull. The felucca, seeing us busy at this work, waited patiently until we
had got the boat over the side, and into the water. Cooper, Dan McCoy, Big
Dan, and Spanish Joe, then got into her; and the captain had actually
passed his writing-desk into the boat, and had his leg on the rail, to go
over the side himself, when a squall struck the ship. The men were called