Chapter I: Front Matter

YULE LOGS

BEING LONGMANS'
XMAS ANNUAL FOR
1898 EDITED BY
G. A. HENTY.

YULE LOGS

_Longmans' Christmas Annual for 1898_

YULE LOGS

Edited by

G. A. Henty

With Sixty-one Illustrations

Longmans, Green, and Co.

39 Paternoster Row, London
New York and Bombay
1898

_All rights reserved_

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
At the Ballantyne Press

CONTENTS

PAGE

A FIGHTING MERMAID. By KIRK MUNROE 1

_Illustrated by_ FRED. T. JANE.

THE VENTURE OF THE "BERTHA" WHALER. By HENRY FRITH 39

_Illustrated by_ W. H. OVEREND.

A FRENCHMAN'S GRATITUDE. By Lieut.-Col. PERCY-GROVES 74

_Illustrated by_ J. FINNEMORE.

THE BADGE OF THE FOURTH FOOT. By ROBERT LEIGHTON 115

_Illustrated by_ J. AYTON SYMINGTON.

A DANGEROUS GAME. By G. MANVILLE FENN 155

_Illustrated by_ C. J. STANILAND.

BY DEFAULT OF THE ENGINEER. By FRANKLIN FOX 203

_Illustrated by_ GORDON BROWNE.

THE KING OF SPAIN'S WILL. By JOHN BLOUNDELLE-BURTON 236

_Illustrated by_ ENOCH WARD.

A NEW ENGLAND RAID. By E. F. POLLARD 271

_Illustrated by_ GORDON BROWNE.

SIR RICHARD'S SQUIRES. By CHARLES W. WHISTLER 310

_Illustrated by_ R. WHEELWRIGHT.

THE SLAVER'S REVENGE. By HARRY COLLINGWOOD 344

_Illustrated by_ TREVOR HADDON.

ON A MEXICAN RANCHE. By G. A. HENTY 383

_Illustrated by_ H. BIRD.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"An Indian sprang up behind him" _Frontispiece_
PAGE
"The strange tow, slowly making its way up the harbour" 13

"She hovered like a gigantic fish" 17

"Then two dripping figures scrambled aboard" 29

"The explosion, close under their bows, of a giant fire-cracker" 31

"The _Alfonso XIX._ lay in a glow of diffused light that seemed to
come from beneath her very keel" 33

"Threw the whole harbour into an uproar of terror" 35

"The captain, overbalanced, dropped overboard, and disappeared
in the raging sea" 43

"Hullo, my young spitfire! so you want a lesson, do you?" 47

"What are those black things, Mr. Stevens?" 54

"In the dim light two curious objects appeared" 63

"The end appeared near" 69

"I immediately ran forward to the scene of action" 77

"Our gunners hammered away at Rosetta" 85

"Very cautiously we made our way down the sand-hills" 91

"As the fog cleared off, there appeared before us the Turkish army" 97

"Our standing ranks gave them a rattling volley" 105

"I dropped senseless to the ground" 111

"Suddenly a fluttering book flew past his curly head" 117

"Turned up a rusty old claymore" 124

"Alan refused to accept this offer of friendship" 135

"Colin handed him the lantern" 146

"Neil? my brother Neil?" 151

"Whisked himself round and held his tar-kettle and brush out like
a pair of balances" 160

"Rev'nue cutter," said Hezz shortly 166

"A vigorous cut divided the fishing-line" 171

"A signal! came the next moment in answer" 181

"For there below him, lit up by a few lanterns, he could make out
the hull of a great lugger" 186

"Oh," he cried, "there you are, sir!" 193

"Master Lahnce, lad!" cried the old man, making a grab at the
boy's hand 201

"A quiet smoke" 205

"This is a pleasant prospect" 209

"Caught a firm grip of her dress" 214

"Uttering a wild yell, rushed off towards the nearest hut" 228

"Mr. Urquhart tried the effect of the nine-pounders" 233

"Ran his finger along a map of France" 242

"We are soldiers, not----" 251

"Not so fast, mademoiselle, not so fast. What are you doing here?" 254

The Rescue 265

"A friendship that eventually ripened--" 269

"I was afraid, and hid myself in the long rushes" 273

"Quiet! Josiah Blackstone" 287

"Be on your guard" 295

"With a shout of triumph she leaped into the water" 303

"He fell forward dead in the black swamp" 307

"He came heavily to the roadside grass, where he lay stunned" 311

"Sir Richard sat in his great chair on the daïs" 315

"I know where I am not wanted, at least" 323

"She seemed to care little" 327

"The next thing I knew was that my good steed was down on his
nose among the stones" 336

"We were met by a ragamuffin crowd of swarthy, black-haired,
fierce-eyed ruffians" 349

"A gang of some fifty negroes appeared" 367

"Borne aloft on a sort of rude throne supported upon the shoulders
of eight stalwart negroes" 371

"She waved her hand above her head by way of farewell" 375

"Before he could pull the trigger I had struck up the weapon" 380

"Horses, when required, could be lassoed" 385

"Was often away on horseback with her dogs" 389

"The great assemblage of all the cattle, known as the round up" 403

"Shot an unusually fine mountain lion" 411

"I struck Violetta sharply and she galloped off like an arrow" 418

"A loud shout burst from the bushes as he issued out" 423

A FIGHTING MERMAID

BY KIRK MUNROE

_Author of "The White Conquerors," "At War with Pontiac," "Through
Swamp and Glade," "With Crockett and Bowie," &c. &c._