after the body of byrne had been disposed of, the stinger returned to hong-kong, where the men, one watch at a time, were permitted to visit the shore. many of them deserted, and succeeded in making good their escape in american ships, which left the harbour about that time; others joined piratical chinese vessels, and became notorious for their cruelty towards their captives; while the less cautious sailors, getting intoxicated and overstaying their leave of absence, were re-captured by the ship's corporal and sergeant of marines, who were paid the usual blood money for their activity in securing the deserters. when the ship was thoroughly refitted, and the vacancies in her crew had been filled by drafts from other vessels, puffeigh was directed to proceed to sea in search of pirates; the admiral imagining that, if he sent the stingers away for a time upon active service, their commander would be enabled to get them into something like discipline, they having been represented to him as "a lot of worthless wretches, who could only be kept in order by the cat-o'-nine tails."

during their cruise crushe succeeded in bringing several of the new men to the gratings, and his general language and conduct towards the crew were as bad as ever.

after having searched the coast for over six months, during which time they captured and destroyed a great number of junks, lorchas, and other piratical craft, the stinger returned to hong-kong, where her officers and crew received their letters and newspapers, which had accumulated at the post-office during their absence, the delivery to the crew taking place as follows. the ship's corporal and sergeant spine having obtained the sack of mails, proceeded forward with it, and upon reaching the forecastle shot the contents into a dry wash deck tub; then the boatswain piped, "hands, lay forward for your letters." every one was on the alert, and a dozen men who could read clustered round the tub, and assisted in the pleasing task of distributing the epistles.

"bill bowker!"

"gone ashore. i'm his chum—here, chuck it over."

"jerry thompson!—one, two, three letters."

"heave 'em here," cried the wag, who had brought up a bucket in which to receive his correspondence.

"charles smith!"

"vich chawles is it?" demanded a stumpy individual; "is it i or conkey smith?"

"tommy sims!"

"runned away," observed one of the boys.

"charles dunstable—oh! he's dead."

"harry tomlin!"

"bolted at singapore."

"tom clare! three letters for you, old man."

"jerry thompson! jerry thompson! here you are, a regular bunch of 'em. all the girls in portsmouth must av bin awriting you, jerry."

"werry possible," coolly retorted the coxswain. "it's more than they'd do to you, old fetch-and-carry."

"mister robert brown! here bobby, here's a letter from one of them ere lords as you is related to."

[pg 73]

"chuck it over ere, and hold yer thundering jaw," growled the gentleman alluded to.

when the tub was cleared of its contents, a sale of letters commenced, i. e. those who had none purchased one or two at second hand from their more fortunate shipmates.

"now, then," shouted a freckled-face pat, "here's a chance for yez, my boys,—a letthur from me cousin eiley—full av love and tinderness. who sez a pint ov grog for this? wid two songs, one called 'teddy regan,' and the other 'nora o'shane,' put into the bargain. the letthur is worth all the grog, as it's chock full of family matters. come, me boys! who sez a pint?" upon this a big, stupid-looking topman called out in a half-ashamed manner,—"heave it over here, tim, i'll give ye a pint for it next time i'm cook." having received it, the man walked below to his mess, where he indulged in the luxury of spelling over the letter, which we will give, with his comments upon the same.

"limerick (i wish i was there).

"my darlin tim (that's affectionate, anyhow),

"ye will be sorry to learn that your aunt o'brien is dead, an' has bin waked and berried, rest her sowld." (she's a good religious girl, anyhow.) "peter mcmahon swears he'll kill ye the fust time he sets eyes on ye, as yer brother michael split the skull of his father's uncle during the wake." (never mind, tim; i'll help you.) "tim achushla machree, send us yer half pay, for the love of mary—we're nigh starved at times, an' it's hard work for a poor girl to keep straight, and she so poor and so many temptations round her." (poor girl, i'll send her my half pay if he don't. tim ain't half thoughtful for her.) "mary connor is married, and her husband gone to sea with a black eye she gave him" (i suppose he deserved it, anyhow); "an' kathleen shea wants to know if ye mean to keep yer word with her." (if he don't i will.)

"yer mother sends her love, and with the same from yer loving

"eiley rooney."

(bless her dear heart, how life-like she do write; that's what i call a nateral sort of letter.)

at the first quiet opportunity, the sailor questioned tim as to what his cousin eily was like, and the answer he obtained was a quencher to his passion. "she's an ould devil, as keeps a fruit stall, an' is as ugly as the skipper, an' that's saying no little, me boy. but if ye wants to fall in love wid an illigant slip ov a colleen, i'll intrejuce yez to me cousin nora for a trifle ov grog." however, once bit twice shy, and the now enlightened sailor concluded to leave tim's relations alone.

thompson received about twenty-five letters in all, including one in the german language from miss pferdscreptern, which having opened, turned over, and held in every conceivable position, he reluctantly sold to a foretopman, who, not being able to read, did not care whether it was in german or hebrew. after picking out mary ann's epistles, jerry sold the balance of his correspondence unopened, and realized thereby a very handsome profit.

clare had three short notes from polly, that is, they were written for her by a friend, as she was unable to write even her own signature, although she contrived to spell out the letters tom sent her, he always writing in a very round hand for her accommodation. clare found that his wife had made him a father, and that the mother and child were doing well.

[pg 74]

"god bless the dear creetur and her babby," he murmured, and a big tear stole down his cheek and dropped upon the paper.

as the correspondence was written by a stranger, he did not expect there would be many tender passages, but he found the letters cold and formal, and for the moment cursed his fate, and imagined how warmly she would greet him with her own lips could he but see her then. however, he knew she was naturally shy; and comforting himself with the reflection that they would meet when his time was up, he put the letters in his tobacco box, and went in search of jerry thompson, to whom he imparted the news.

"well, i'm werry glad to think it's a boy, but wouldn't you have liked a gal better, tom?"

"i like either a gal or a boy; it's all the same to me."

"well! you're a father and i ain't, but if i was in your shoes i'd prefer a gal. i always likes the gals afore any other sex. by-the-by, i have heered from my mary ann."

"have you? what does she say?"

"well, first of all she says her missis av bin werry dicky and likely to croak, and the sawboneses sent them off to nice for the air, and she's as hearty as a brick, and a learnin' french like one o'clock. but i hope she won't learn it on the same principle as i did german."

clare who was very little interested in his friend's recital, inquired rather vaguely,

"have you ever learned german?"

"yes—well—i—excuse me; there's the old man a hollerin' for me. good-bye, tom." saying which the coxswain got up and walked briskly aft, as if in obedience to the captain's summons.

the ship had been in harbour about a week and everything was adrift, as is usually the case during refitting, when a signal was made from the flag-ship for "the stinger to proceed to sea." a number of the men had just mustered upon the quarter-deck previous to going on shore, and were of course dismissed to duty again, and the signal made for all boats to come off at once. knowing the ship was short-handed, some of the crew being absent on leave, the admiral sent about forty picked seamen and twenty marines on board, and in a few hours everything was ready for sea, upon which they slipped anchor, and made the best of their way through the cap-sing-moon passage.

crushe adopted quite a conciliatory manner when speaking to the supernumeraries, knowing it would not do to bully them as he did his own men, consequently the former thought "the stingers were a dissatisfied lot, who, without a cause, gave their first lieutenant a bad name."

by daylight they arrived off the bay to which they had been guided by hoo-kee, their pilot, who, clad in a cast-off suit of puffeigh's, walked the bridge in a dignified manner; never leaving his elevated position until the first shot was fired, upon which he darted below, and hid himself in a sand-tank until the engagement was over.

hoo-kee told puffeigh that they were off the entrance of a bay which contained a regular fleet of piratical junks, commanded by one seh-wang; and he strongly urged him to send away his boats and attack the junks under cover of the fog, it being impossible to take the ship in during the time it continued. upon this lieutenant wilton, who had been appointed to the vacancy caused by ford's death, informed the commander that he "knew every inch of the bay, having surveyed it about a year ago." after a short consultation, and being urged strongly by the master, who was also an old china ranger, puffeigh reluctantly consented, and with the leads going in both[pg 75] chains, the stinger slowly steamed into the bay, in spite of the fog, which was, to use a nautical expression, as thick as pea-soup.

the master went out upon the jibboom and watched for the slightest lift in the fog, while the captain and lieutenant wilton piloted the ship from the bridge.

"starboard!" cried wilton. "starboard!" bawled puffeigh. "junk ahead! port your helm!" roared the master from forward.

round went the wheel, and the stinger shot past a huge junk, which loomed through the fog like a line-of-battle ship.

"steady! let go the anchor!" commanded the master, who thereupon came aft and reported to the captain that during a break in the fog he had seen several junks ahead, and it was advisable to heave short, and prepare for warm work, as soon as it cleared.

puffeigh fussed about like an old woman, first directing the guns to be loaded with shot, then countermanding the order, and giving instructions to load with shell; and finally, by the advice of the master, who almost took charge of the ship, he ordered them to load with grape and canister. the gunner and his mates prayed for him.

crushe worried round and blustered like the pistol that he was, now and then ordering some youngster out of what the lad considered a snug place, swearing he'd have no skulking cowards in his ship, and all the time wishing himself somewhere else.

the man who talks big before an engagement is generally very quiet during the fight, and it proved so in this instance. puffeigh was not afraid; but being thoroughly incompetent to take his ship into action, had to rely upon the master and lieutenant wilton.

the ship had been cleared for action before they arrived off the bay, so there was very little to do after they had anchored, but to man the capstan, ready to weigh, the moment they could descry the pirates.

wilton requested permission to go ahead of the ship and explore the bay, but thinking the risk too great, the commander would not allow him to do so. the men were standing round their guns, which were all fully manned—here and there along the deck being stationed powder-monkeys—i. e. boys detailed to pass the leathern cases containing charges of gunpowder, who, seated on their cartridge boxes, looked into the fog as knowingly as the oldest salts in the ship. some of the men munched biscuit, which was surreptitiously obtained from below by the more daring boys, who risked punishment to curry favor with the seamen; and all of them imbibed pretty freely of the usual fighting drink—oatmeal and water—tubs of that scottish beverage being placed in different parts of the upper deck.

crushe, puffeigh, and mr. beauman, the master, were consulting upon the bridge, when suddenly the fog lifted, upon which the skipper became very much excited, and directed the port bow-gun to be fired, "to wake 'em up, you know."

"for heaven's sake, don't do that!" urged the master; "we will wake them up in a moment; they mustn't see us just yet."

upon this the captain held his peace, and left the man?uvring to be done by abler persons, contenting himself by looking very imposing, and whenever he could catch a sentence bellowing it through his speaking-trumpet to the officer for whom it was intended. the men laughed at him behind his back, as all of them could see he was utterly adrift.

away steamed the stinger straight for the nearest craft, which proved to be a lorcha, and by no means a despicable enemy. she was evidently well manned and armed, and quite prepared for the man-of-war. the rest of the pirates were further up the bay,[pg 76] some of them being but partly visible, as the fog still lingered there; but they were all now awake, and firing crackers to their gods, or beating gongs in a very energetic and ferocious manner.

the big lorcha suddenly swung round, and sent a hail of shot across the stinger's decks. no one was hurt by this discharge, the crew all being down behind their guns, which formed, as it were, so many breastworks for them; but the ship was twice hulled, once badly on the port bow near the water line. the stinger quickly put her helm a-port, as the lorcha was again endeavouring to swing into position, so as to give her another broadside. they were now within a cable's length of the pirate; but, in spite of her rapid firing, they steamed right ahead. wilton and mr. beauman were on the bridge with the captain, who, when he saw they intended to run into the lorcha, and carry her by boarding, bristled up, and seizing his speaking-trumpet bellowed forth,

"hands, repel boarders on both bows!"

up sprang the men, who obedient to orders rushed forward and swarmed upon the forecastle. crash came another broadside from the pirate, killing two men and wounding several others. one moment more, and the steam-ship ran into the lorcha. smash went the bulwarks of the latter, and with a hearty cheer the sailors swarmed over the stinger's bows, upon seeing which many of the pirates leapt overboard. thompson was delighted, and had several combats with his enemies, who were rapidly disarmed and kicked over-board by the good-natured fellow. as he was one of the first men below, he had the honour of killing the pirate-captain, seh-wang. on entering the stateroom, jerry found himself confronted by that huge chinaman who was fencing at him with two swords, uttering most unearthly sounds as he did so. the sailor quietly cut down his guard, and then told him to get out of the port, upon which seh-wang fumbled in his dress for a moment, then drawing forth a revolver, shut both eyes and pulled the trigger. snick went the cap, but no other report followed. upon this jerry ran him through the body, and having looted him, i. e., taken everything valuable, he coolly secured his plunder and went on deck, reaching it just in time to jump on board the stinger, which was now becoming a mark for the pirates at the upper end of the bay. when he got to the quarter-deck he informed puffeigh that he had killed the chinese captain, but as the lorcha was fired by the stingers, the fact of his killing seh-wang was never proved, although the chinese declared he perished with the ship, and thompson lost special mention for bravery; but he consoled himself with his loot, and considered the account balanced. had the fact of his having searched the body been known, puffeigh would have compelled him to disgorge his plunder, his maxim being that all such articles belonged to himself.

the stinger now made the best of her way up the bay; as she did so, keeping up a galling fire from her bow guns. having arrived nearly within short range of the pirates' fire, puffeigh ordered the anchor to be let go, and when the ship swung to the tide, she being broadside on, poured a telling discharge into the junks, two or three of which were shortly afterwards discovered to be on fire. the pirates replied in a most determined manner, and a severe engagement ensued, during which the ship was badly hulled and several men killed or wounded. old price, who was acting as captain of the starboard bow gun, was cut in two by a chain shot. boy jordun, who seemed to think the engagement was a sort of theatrical spectacle, and who ran about as unconcernedly as possible, received a ball in his left arm—upon which he went below to the doctor, and after observing that he thought he was wounded, the plucky child fell upon the dead body of a man stretched out upon the floor, and fainted away from loss of blood.[pg 77] clare quietly did his duty, but the lash had taken all enthusiasm out of him; towards the end of the action he was hit on the forehead, but he merely bound his neck-handkerchief round the wound, and kept at his gun.

the chinese fired all sorts of missiles—bar, chain, and round shot—musket balls, and copper cash—some going far beyond the stinger, and others falling along way short. finding there was little chance of beating off the man-of-war, the pirates set fire to their ships and abandoned them. upon seeing this puffeigh ordered his men to cease firing; and having cleared the decks and weighed anchor, the stinger steamed towards the town, passing, as she did so, the line of piratical vessels, many of which were burning most furiously.

old jemmy was standing upon the carriage of his gun, looking over the side, and passing comments upon the junks as the ship steamed slowly passed them, when a gun on board one of them was discharged by the heat, and the ball striking the old man, stretched him senseless upon the deck. several men sprang forward to assist him, and he was carried below and handed over to the surgeon.

the stingers counted thirty-five craft in all; and as these were moored in a line so as to mask the town, they were not aware, until they rounded the last junk, of the little amusement which was going on between the townspeople and the pirates who had taken to the water. it seems that the former, finding matters were going against the freebooters, had turned out en masse, and prevented their landing, and when the man-of-war hove in sight, round the stem of the last lorcha, they were engaged in the lively business of knocking the pirates over the heads with bamboos, clubs, or stones. upon seeing their british allies, they boldly put off in their sampans, and slaughtered their former tyrants most perseveringly.

"where's the pilot? where's hoo-kee?" demanded puffeigh.

after a search, the too-brave chinaman was found, and being interrogated by the skipper, sagely informed him that, "peecee man lib here catchee pilong and gib he fum-fum," this information being a not very lucid explanation of the state of affairs going on alongside the ship, which any child could understand, without its being thus oracularly described by the chinaman.

taking the advice of his officers, puffeigh left the pirates to be dealt with by the townspeople, and the stingers were piped to breakfast. all were quite ready for the food which they brought on deck and devoured as they viewed the slaughter of the pirates, the same being a novel zest for their meal.

puffeigh took this opportunity to reconnoitre the bay, and found it was surrounded by high hills, with its entrance masked by rocks, which rendered it a most desirable resort for pirates, as without previous intimation any ship might pass up and down the coast a hundred times and not suspect the existence of an inlet in that place. he now perceived the burnt hull of an english merchant-ship lying near the town; and as he had been sent to avenge the outrage of this very seizure, he determined, when his men were refreshed, to land and endeavour to ascertain the fate of the crew of the burnt vessel.

"boat alongside, sir," sang out the sentry on the bridge.

"what is she?"

"chinese, sir."

"send hoo-kee here."

upon this the pilot walked to the gangway and saluted the celestials, who climbed over the side, speaking of course in his own vernacular.

"hi! you dogs. i'm pilot here. if you don't cumshaw me (i. e. fee me), i'll get these red-haired devils to burn your town about your ears."

[pg 78]

"most illustrious sir!" exclaimed the foremost moon-face, "we are very poor, but" (puffing through want of breath) "we will pay you two hundred dollars to assist us, if you'll come on shore and fetch it."

"what does the fellow say?" demanded puffeigh.

"he say, some peecee pilong come catchee he long tim, and he no savee how many peecee eingleesh man him kill."

"bring them aft, here."

the self-appointed deputation of towns-folks walked aft, and falling upon their knees, kow-tow'd (i. e. knocked their foreheads upon the deck), and then awaited the great fanqui's pleasure.

"tell them to get up."

"get up, you fools; this old rice-bag doesn't know what kow-tow is."

"we'd rather not, my lord. tell the great man we can't lie easily when we look at his terrible hairy face."

"what do they say, hoo-kee?"

"why, him say you too muchee lansome, and he fraid speekee you spose him lookee you in him face."

"hum!" the flattery tickled the vain old fellow, who thereupon allowed the deputation to remain upon their knees, and by the assistance of the pilot learnt, that seh-wang left one night, and that on the following morning they saw a foreign-built vessel anchored in the bay. some of the pirates who landed to visit their wives told them that they had killed all the fanquis but one woman, whom they had landed and removed from the town to a joss-house, which they pointed out upon one of the neighbouring hills, where it was presumed she would now be found.

upon hearing this, it was determined to land the sailors and marines, and march to the joss-house, which the towns-people stated was about seventy le (ten miles) from the town.

"mr. shever, pipe man and arm boats."

in a few moments the ship's boats were in the water and the crews in their places, the pinnace with its brass howitzer, and first and second cutters with their rocket apparatus, being, on account of their armament, the last boats ready. much to his chagrin, mr. beauman, was left behind in charge of the ship, the whole of the executive officers being detailed for shore duty. about twelve o'clock puffeigh stepped into his gig, and the flotilla proceeded towards the shore, the master having instructions if he saw a white flag flying in the gig, to shell the town, ten men and boys being left on board to carry out this duty.

upon reaching the shore a number of the townsfolks came down, and welcomed the party, whereupon puffeigh assumed a grand air, and told the "elders" that they need not be alarmed, as he would not hurt them, this being translated to them by hoo-kee, as follows:—

"you crouching dogs, this vermilion-faced devil says if you don't hand over the dollars upon our return from the joss-house, he'll blow you into the water."

"tell them i want two guides, and that i will reward them if they are faithful."

"do you hear? you common things! the vermilion-visaged devil says he wants two guides, who are to go with us at once."

having selected a couple of active looking volunteers, the party commenced their journey. first marched the sailors under command of lieutenant wilton; these men drew the brass howitzer and its limber-boxes, it being fitted for use as a field piece. next came a sedan containing puffeigh, borne by six chinese, twelve others being secured to act as relays. bringing up the rear were the marines under control of[pg 79] crushe, these men carrying the rocket apparatus. jerry thompson walked by the side of the sedan, having charge of the bearers, and acting as a sort of aide-de-camp to the captain.

the fighting party marched through the streets to the tune of "old dan tucker," played upon a violin, by one of the blue-jackets; and a more jolly set of fellows could not be imagined. all their troubles forgotten, all animosity buried, everything absorbed in one idea—the rescue of a poor girl from slavery.

leaving the shore party to make the best of their way to the joss-house, we will return to the stinger.

master jordun, who had been attended to and placed in a cot, finding the place pretty quiet after the departure of the fighting party, got up and cruised round the sick bay. he had made a critical survey of nearly all its occupants, and thought it time to return to his cot, fearing the surgeon would come back and give him a scolding, when his attention was suddenly arrested by hearing a husky voice repeat his name.

"young bill! i say! come here."

"who's that ere a flyin' my number?"

"me—yer old chum, jemmy," was the faint response.

"where are ye?" demanded the boy, who could not see any resemblance to his friend in the mummy-like figure from which the sound appeared to proceed.

"here i am, and it's all up with me, my boy—i'm going fast. although that infernal sawbones ses i'm all right, jemmy ain't long for this world."

"humbug! you're all right. why, i'm wounded and a walkin' about."

at this moment the surgeon entered, and asked the boy why he was out of his cot.

"old jemmy called me, sir."

"is that the doctor!" quavered the old sailor.

"what do you want, my man? you must keep quiet."

upon this the old fellow, calling the surgeon to him, desired he would bear witness that he left "his clothes, pay, and prize money to that ere kid bill jordun."

"i'll see that it is done; but if you remain quiet, you will recover."

old jemmy kept quite still until the surgeon left again, upon which he called to the boy and told him to step out of the sick-bay, and go to his ditty box, in which he would find a bottle of grog, and to bring it to him at once, never mind who said no.

the young scamp, desirous of pleasing the man who had made him his heir, did as he was directed; and having secured the bottle, took it to his friend, who begged him to put it to his lips—"gentle, my boy." the lad did as he was desired, and having held it there until he thought the old fellow had imbibed his share, he removed it and took a pull at it himself.

"give us another nip," piteously pleaded the mummy.

"it ain't good for you, old 'un—you knows it isn't," replied the boy; who, however, replaced the bottle to his friend's lips, and allowed him to empty its contents.

"i'm blowed! if he ain't a sucked it dry!" ejaculated the lad. "i say, jemmy, how do you feel now?"

but old jemmy replied not, so the boy covered him up and left him.

about five hours after this the sick-bay man, thinking the old man was very quiet, proceeded to uncover his face, and found he was dead; upon which he reported to the surgeon that, "old jemmy were dead, and that he smelt werry strong of rum." boy jordun became delirious during the night, and as he also was perfumed in the same manner, the doctor concluded that some numskull had given them a glass of grog, and blamed his man for not keeping a good look-out.

[pg 80]

some time after when the boy was informed of the death of his friend, he snivelled, and declared "he was werry sorry, as the old bloke was allus a thundering good old kove to him."

finding everything was pretty quiet, the master boarded all the junks which were not much injured by fire, and hoisted the british flag upon them as prizes. by the time this was done it became necessary to return to the ship; and having set the watch, and made the rounds, mr. beauman retired to rest, thoroughly done up. nothing occurred to render it imperative that he should be called during the night, and the stingers not on duty slumbered in their hammocks; while those who were compelled to remain upon deck kept their eyes open, and thought how calm and peaceful the bay appeared, with the stars shining down upon the water, beneath which were sunk eleven hundred pirates, who twenty-four hours before had been alive, and quite unconscious of their approaching fate. a few of the more superstitious among the watchers declared that every now and then some of the murdered men would rise to the surface, groan and sink again. probably it was the noise of fish they heard, but to the day of their deaths they believed that "bloody bay" (as they termed it) swarmed with spirits that night. one man was so affected by his fears, that he left his post, and going below was led into the ward-room, where he came across a bottle of brandy, a portion of which he found himself compelled to swallow. no doubt he was under the baneful influence of the spooks when he did this, as when he was found helplessly reclining upon the fore hatchway, he gravely declared that it was seeing so many ghosts that took away his senses. as the man had been twice flogged, the humane master forgave him, and determined not to report the circumstance to the captain, when the latter returned; which act of clemency so touched the delinquent, that he made a vow not to take another drop of grog during the time he belonged to the ship. and to his honour be it said, he faithfully kept his word.

more than twenty-four hours had passed, and he had seen no sign of the landing-party. beauman got the ship in order, repaired the rigging, and obtained some fruit and vegetables from the shore, but when the sun went down the second night the master was still left in suspense, and, to tell the truth, became quite uneasy, never leaving the deck a moment during the night. when morning broke a sampan came off with a message from the head man of the town, from which beauman, who could speak a little chinese, made out that the stingers had found the pirates at home, but had been beaten off with great loss, and were fleeing towards the mountains.

he knew that the landing party was but small, and if they had fallen into an ambuscade all of them might be murdered; but knowing how unblushingly the chinese can pervert the truth, he made up his mind to await further developments. sending the messenger back with a polite intimation, that if the expedition did not return within eight-and-forty hours he would fire upon the town, he devoted his energies to instructing the boys how to act in case the party were lost, and in training his guns upon prominent buildings, the ship being moored broadside on to the place. during the day they buried the dead, and eight bodies were conveyed to a small island near the entrance of the bay, and decently interred.

when night set in beauman became restless, and began to think there was some truth in the story brought off from the shore. "sixty hours away from the ship, and no sign of them yet. poor fellows! they have been captured and put to death."