Their fat friend, the first lieutenant, received them at the gangway, with his hat in one hand and his sword in the other. There was no bluster in him now. "Where is the commodore?" asked Higson, looking round the deck, which was strewed with dead men. "There!" answered the lieutenant, pointing to the mangled form of a man which lay on the quarter-deck, his uniform alone showing that it was that of the commodore. He had been almost cut in two by a shot from Long Tom. "How many men have you lost?" asked Higson. "Twenty-five," answered the lieutenant. "Our crew declared that they were fighting with devils and not men, and refused to fire another shot." "If they had handled their guns as our fellows did theirs, we shouldn't have taken you so easily," answered Higson. "You deserve a better ship's company." "Many thanks for your compliment," answered the crestfallen lieutenant. "It is the fortune of war." The schooners being brought up close to the corvette, the _Supplejack_ anchored near them, with Long Tom so trained that, should the Carthagenans attempt to recapture their vessels, they might quickly be sent to the bottom. The brig's boarding-nettings were also triced up, a vigilant watch was kept, and pistols, pikes, and cutlasses placed in readiness for immediate use to resist any attack which might be made on her. Murray, while he thus kept watch over the captured vessels, felt himself in a delicate and trying position. The Carthagenan government had hostages in their hands on whom they might wreak their vengeance. Had they, indeed, known how dear one of the prisoners was to the young commander, they would probably have made use of the advantage they possessed. He felt sure that a bold course was the only safe one. He might have led his crew on shore and endeavoured to rescue the captives, but the attempt he knew would have been sheer madness, as a piece of artillery at the end of one of the streets might have sent him and his men to destruction. Murray, like a wise man, had retired to his cabin to consider what was best to be done. He speedily made up his mind, and sent for his second in command. "Higson," he said, "I have resolved to go on shore myself, and demand the release of the prisoners. I leave you in charge of the brig. Keep an eye on the corvette and schooners, and sink them rather than allow them to escape." "You may depend on it that we will, sir," was the answer. "I only wish that we could get our friends on board, that we might stand in and batter their town about the ears of the rascals." "They have had a pretty severe lesson already," said Murray, "and I have hopes that they will not refuse to accede to my demands. Get the gig ready, with an ensign and a flag of truce. There's no time to be lost." Higson went on deck, and the gig's crew were piped away.