A THE SHIPWRECK,

CHAPTER V.

Sea Fight — Pardon achieved by Valour — Stubbornness of Character.

So desperate a mutineer was Merville adjudged to be,
that it was thought necessary to chain him to the deck,
for fear that, in a fit of rage, he, who thought so little of
his own life, might fire the vessel, and blow himself and
the whole crew up together. .

The Achilles was engaged in escorting afleet of merchant
vessels to Rio Janeiro. As they were making the coast of

Brazil an English man-of-war hove in sight. A few mi-
nutes afterwards, another ship, apparently her consort, was
descried. They were cruising about in search of the fleet.
The merchantmen, carrying no guns, steered in different
directions, leaving the Achilles to sustain a most unequal
combat.

For Merville this engagement was a happy occurrence ;
as at sea, before a battle, the prisoners are commonly set
at liberty. Lieutenant Saint Ague unlocked his chains.
“Philip,” he said, “you have shown courage in a bad