him, and nothing was to be seen but a sheet of foam. Herbert, in the meanwhile, stung by the undeserved reproaches of the father, moved to the utmost by the love he himself bore to the son, had seized the deep-sea lead-line from its place in the mizen chains, giving the reel to a good strong hand to hold, and hastily and entirely divesting himself of his clothes, lashed the line round his waist.

In vain the corporal reminded him of the hardihood and extreme rashness of the undertaking—of the weakness yet left by his late and cruel punishment, the wounds of which were still raw and bleeding on his back;-in vain he painted the extreme probability that the foretop-man was already dead-perhaps might have even sunk ere he could reach the grating. All was unheeded; not a second pause did he make in his arrangements, and his only reply was, "If I don't come back with him, I don't come back at all. Let the line be paid out gradually, and when I pull, haul slowly on board; but be sure you don't check it as the wash of the wave comes against me—nothing can stand that."

A marine here came up, with one of those small wooden canteens which are used in a march; it was filled with spirit, and, taking a hearty draught, Herbert flung the belt securely under one arm and over the other shoulder, and, ere the raving father knew the object on which he was bent, Herbert had sprung, at one fearless bound, from the weather-quarter down into the raging sea below.

The tremendous shout echoed by the crew, as they witnessed this generous act of self-dovotion, might well have cheered the heart of the undaunted Herbert. He was, however, lost some feet beneath the surface before it burst forth. Rising slowly through the dense and coloured medium to the gradually-brightening light of day, he no sooner felt himself able once more to inhale the air, than he paused for a moment to recover his exhausted breath, and dash the water from his eyes; then, with the cool determination and rapid vigour of one who feels that life is doubly dependent on his exertions, he struck steadily out, but with the swiftness rather of an inhabitant of the deep, than an intruder on its treacherous and deadly realms, an intervener between its grasp and its prey.

Nothing could exceed the intense excitement that prevailed upon the taffrail during this dangerous experiment. "Hurrah! hurrah!" cried the men, cheering him on. "Bear down to leeward-bear further away!" shouting and waving their hands in that direction to one already

past hearing, and equally, of course, unable to see that which was passing in a quarter to which his back was turned.

Still it was not needed that he should be thus steered, for, bearing in mind, with admirable coolness and precision, that the object of his search must now be a little to leeward of the ship's wake, he swam boldly forward, dashing from crest to crest, as much in a straight line as possible, and slightly to windward. After exerting for some minutes his very utmost speed, the seamen beheld him suddenly alter his course, and, dashing at right angles down to leeward, as a vulture stoops upon his prey, they considered, and rightly, that he had discovered his nephew. Every eye was now fixed on him; even the father clasped his hands, and seemed to be petitioning for his success.

As well as the fading daylight and the distance enabled them to ascertain, he seemed to be giving the exhausted man some of the spirit he had so wisely carried round his neck. Suddenly the before slack line was tautened.

"Give it me!" said the corporal, "I'll haul him on board. Look out, some of ye-say when the seas approach, that I may ease off, or they may both be lost after all."

"God in mercy forbid!" responded the father, whose bosom hope began once more to revive.

Slowly and with great care the corporal now gathered in the deep-sea line, which, though made of the strongest and finest hemp, and most carefully laid up, was still sorely taxed when made to drag two such strong and heavy men through so impetuous a sea.

"Slack! slack! slack!" continually cried the seamen around the corporal, as they witnessed the approach of those overwhelming bodies of water, to resist which would at once have put a period to their expectations.

Obedient to the word, away swept the slack line overboard, as the two struggling men were borne away on the rolling flood to leeward, and in one moment was lost all the ground they had so anxiously been striving to ob tain through the many anxious minutes that had preceded. The fury of the wave swept by, and again the cautious corporal began to gather in the line; but ere many fathoms had been hauled inboard, a repetition of the same disheartening and vexatious cry once more obliged him to give way; and it soon became apparent that the seamen whom they were striving to save, were rather losing than gaining ground; and as the nearly exhausted wheel foretold that the lead-line would soon be expended.

"Cresswell, Cresswell!" cried the corporal, who perceived that the strength of the stoutest seaman must at length be exhausted by these efforts.

"What's the matter, corporal?"

"Wear ship, my boy, if it's possible, if you have any sort of wish to see old Herbert on board again, for we'll never be able to drag him and his nephew through these heavy seas. The only chance is to see if we can't bring the ship near them."

“Well, I'll try with all my heart, only I fear they're not far enough off. I don't think she'll wear round in so short a space.

"Well, you must try; for if not, it's a chance but it's all over with those poor fellows; and you must do it quickly too,"

"Here we go then. All hands wear ship; boatswain's mate-Mustapha, up with the helm; hands to the peak, and gaff haulyards-man the driver-vang and throat downhaul-lower away-haul down the driver."

As these commands were issued, the only after-sail now carried by the frigate quickly sank upon the deck, being temporarily handed till again required, while the head of the frigate falling from the gale, rapidly shot over the waste of foam like a looseened steed, as the slackened jib and mainstaysail sheets allowed the whole strength of the blast to gather in their folds, and, lifting the frigate over the seas, bore her onward like an arrow.

As the ship, in performing this evolution, came full before the gale, wave after wave seemed chasing at her stern, roaring with the fury of baffled bloodhounds, and sparkling in their froth and grandeur, till they swelled up far above the height of the taffrail, threatening to roll on her decks, and sweep all before them, or as it is more technically termed, "poop the ship."

Not long, however, was she allowed to remain in this perilous position; for, just as the wind was getting round upon the larboard, or what had been the weather-quarter, Cresswell gave the order,

"Man the peak and gaff haulyards-hands by the vang and throat downhaul-hoist away the driver-man the jib and mainstaysail downhauls-stand by to ease off the jib and staysail haulyards-haul down the jib and staysail."

The rapid tramp of feet was heard along the deck, and down came the only two sails that had hitherto kept the ship from running up in the wind's eye; and the after

most sail, now acting with redoubled strength, and a contrary effect, the speed of the frigate rapidly lessened, and her bow was brought to the wind on the appointed tack.

Still as Cresswell had foretold, the frigate, though she had proved much more manageable than could have been reasonably expected, yet would not wear in so short a space as to come within saving distance of her two men, who were now seen vainly struggling upon the weather bow. But although this manœuvre had not entirely accomplished the object it was sought to obtain, it had considerably lessened the difficulties in the way.

To attempt to get the castaways on board forward would have been to insure their destruction, by being dashed against the bows of the frigate. Instead of having to draw them up to windward aginst the whole force of the wind, they had now only gently to accelerate their motion to leeward. A couple of men were slung in readiness to be lowered over the stern as soon as Herbert and his nephew came upon the weather-quarter; and after some difficulty, and no slight fear lest the lead-line might give way under the heavy strain necessarily brought upon it, the two men were at last safely hauled on board. The ectasy, the mingled joy and fear of the father, resembled the gestures of a madman, as he flung himself on the cold and dripping form of his inanimateson-now pouring forth exclamations of gratitude to his brother-in-law for having saved his child,-now equally moved by his fears that the rescue had been too late for life. With as gentle a degree of force as possible he was put aside, that the bodies might be removed below to the care of the surgeon, who had long been prepared to render every assistance that their collapsed state required.

CHAPTER XIX.

Though deep in guilt the lawless rebels stood,
They shrank from shedding a compatriot's blood.

Much as Herbert had undergone in perfecting his heroic determination to save his nephew, it was long before the surgeon could give any hopes of the latter's life. When at last he did so, his father was as extravagant in his joy as he had before been impetuous in his despair. While however, they were all crowding round the temporary cots that had been slung for the invalids in the cabin, the cry of "Sail on the weather-quarter!" drew off the attention of every one to the deck—a fact not a little desired by the surgeon, as one contributing in no slight degree, to the more speedy revival of his patients.

Ill and weak as Herbert necessarily was, it required the utmost stretch of the doctor's authority to keep him quietly in a place where he might obtain some sleep. The corporal, meanwhile, and Cresswell, together with Mustapha, repaired on deck, endeavouring to descry who the stranger might be that had begun to show herself, like a dim light speck on the distant horizon.

It was soon evident that this vessel was coming down before the wind with what, in such a gale, was certainly a press of canvass. The evening was rapidly closing in, and the frigate's jib and mainstaysail had been reset. She was going along as slowly and as near the wind as before the fall of the foretop-man into the sea.

Very few minutes had elapsed since the first discovery of the stranger, and already the heads of her lower masts were rapidly heaving above the broken and troubled outline of the horizon.

"Well, old Sultan of Bagdad, what is she?" demanded Cresswell, familiarly tapping Mustapha on the back, as the latter observed the new-comer through one of the captain's best glasses.

The old quartermaster looked up for a moment at the other two with the deepest gravity, then casting his glance at the crew clustering together under the quarter of the VOL. I.-K