silent progress towards the sea, but it had no sooner approached the entrance to the harbour than a treacherous gleam of moonlight revealing it at the same moment to two of the sentinels, they were challenged, and called upon to pull ashore instantly. This summons was twice repeated in a tone of increasing loudness and anger, when one of the soldiers, both of whom belonged to a detachment from an Irish regiment, called out, "Then by St. Patrick I'll put a bullet through ye! and so here goes!"

Reuben could not help wincing, as he expect ed a ball every instant to whiz into the boat, but his companion muttered in a low whisper, “Be aisy, jewel, be aisy; I knew by the suck of the tide we would be challenged from the Quay, and so I laid myself on this side of ye, that my owld body might have the bullet, would they fire at us."

"Botheration, Corny!" cried the second sentinel just as his comrade was about to pull the trigger, "would you be after alarming the whole garrison for an impty boat, for divil a sowl is there in it? Yonder lies a rope with a hook to

it, so pull her up, Corny, pull her up." The party thus addressed laid down his firelock, seized the rope, and tossing it after them, Reuben, with no small trepidation, heard it dash into the water close to the boat's stern. An angry execration followed: it was thrown a second time, the hook falling upon the tarpaulin, and sending a thrill through Reuben's body, though he breathed a little more freely as he heard it rattle over the side, and again plunge into the

water.

Another loud execration burst from the lips of the soldier, as he again scized the rope, and running a little way after the boat, which was now floating a-head, threw it with so good an aim that the hook fell close to Norry Molloy's head, and would infallibly have pulled the fugitives ashore in one minute, had she not put out her finger and thumb before the rope was tightened, and held the hook in such a direction that it again slipped over the side.

66

Agrah, now Corny!" she whispered, as she heard it splash into the sea, "you caught no fish this time, I'll engage. Try again, honey,

try again." Fortunately no farther attempts of this kind were made, the soldier being afraid to remove farther from his post, and having returned to quarrel with his comrade for not hav ing come to his assistance. Their vociferation sounded fainter and fainter as the little bark floated away from them; no other challenge alarmed them; and as the boat began to be more agitated by the waves Reuben heard his companion whispering in his ear, "There we are, any how, in the mouth of the harbour, and in five minutes more we'll be clane out of their sight!"

To make assurance double sure they remained under cover for a quarter of an hour longer, when Norry threw off the tarpaulin, seized the oars which she had concealed at the bottom of the boat, and resisting all Reuben's offers to divide her labour, pulled away to the westward with all the skill and vigour of an

experienced rower. The King's cruisers, she informed him, generally stationed themselves to the eastward to intercept fugitives making for the Continent, on which account she had desired Mick to lay to with his cutter off Beer Head, for which

point she was then rowing, and to keep a sharp look out for them. A favourable breeze soon springing up, she laid by the oars, hoisted a small sail, and while she sent her keen eye peering on every side for any of the King's craft that might render it necessary to change their course, she proceeded to inform her companion that she would have joined her son Mick in the enterprize ashore, but that she thought the chances were ten to one against its success, and there was no use in exposing the last of her sons to danger when she could do without him, and only risk her own old life, which would be no great loss any how. She added, that she had no sooner learnt his imprisonment than she had concerted the whole plan of his escape with her daughter Mary, and reckoned it particularly lucky that she had thus far accomplished it, since in two or three days the whole of the prisoners, not ordered for transportation, were to have been removed to Dorchester gaol. When Reuben considered what would have been the consequences to herself had she failed, and reflected upon the affectionate heroism with which

she had exposed herself to the shot of the sen tinel, endangering her own life to protect his, together with the perfect sang froid she had manifested through the whole transaction, he scarcely knew which most to admire,—the generosity with which she had undertaken his rescue, the skill with which she had planned it, or her presence of mind and courage in its execu tion. Had she been wounded upon the occa sion he declared that it would have rendered him perfectly miserable; and he the more rejoiced at her escape from such a calamity, since it would inevitably have led to a discovery and prevention of the enterprise.

my darlint ?" inquired Norry.

"And why so,

"Hadn't I fore

seen it all, and sure, had I been struck, Divil a

halfporth wud ye have known about the matter, for I wud have lain by your side and bled to death as quite as a lamb, only maybe afore I died I wud jist have whispered 'quits!' in your

ear,

took

did me when you

for the good turn ye me out of the grip, yonder on the

green."

the warmest terms that a heartfelt gratitude

I could inspire, Reuben declared he should ever