Before sun-rise the mist and fog had all disappeared, and anxiously every one gazed around them. To their surprise, the first thing that caught their sight was their late antagonist, the Vengeance lugger, lying at anchor, at the back of a low point, not four hundred yards from them. She was still without her main-mast; but the moment the look-out caught sight of the Babet, her cable was cut, and in an instant her fore and mizen lug were set, and she was under weigh. Dropping out from under the land, and getting to a distance, she was hove to, evidently watching the movements of the corvette. The corvette was not five hundred yards from the shore, and about six miles from the strong town and citadel of Palais, which had some thirty odd years before stood a long siege, and was surrendered to the English on honourable terms, but was given up some few years afterwards. The Babet’s situation was in truth critical. On every side were ranges of rocks, all visible at low water, with a narrow gut, through which the vessel, singularly enough, had run in. Now, to work out through that narrow passage was quite impossible. It was to be done with a leading wind, certainly; but the gale, though not direct in, would not permit a ship to lead out on one tack, and it blew much too strong to attempt to work through it. Already they could see numbers of persons assembled on the lofty rocks lining the shore. They were just within musket shot of the beach, and Captain O’Loughlin well knew that a party of soldiers would soon arrive from the citadel of Palais, and open fire upon them from the rocks. He was, however, determined to get rid of his prisoners, and accordingly landed them six at a time; they were very unruly, and swore vehemently that the Babet should never leave that spot in the possession of the English. Being able now to use all his crew, Captain O’Loughlin resolved to attempt to warp at high water into a berth from whence he might make sail; but the fates appeared against the Babet, for just as her commander was preparing to make his hazardous attempt, the lofty spars of a large ship appeared round the north-east end of Belleisle, and in five minutes more a thirty-six gun frigate, with the tricolour flaunting in the gale, came rapidly into view, and seeing at once the situation of the corvette, taking her for a French ship, she lay to, and commenced hoisting out her boats. As she was doing so, the Vengeance ran up alongside of her, and then the corvette’s real character became known, and immediately one of the boats with a flag of truce pulled in for her.