The pirates were still busily engaged in making preparations for the coming fight, and from the general direction of the glances that they made I came to the conclusion that the _Friend of the Sea_ was in this case the fugitive.  So busy were they that I edged towards an arm-rack, and, placing my bound wrists against a sharp cutlass, I succeeded in freeing them from the cords that bound them.  This done, it was an easy matter to loose the ropes that fastened my ankles; then, lying in a position that hid my limbs from any passing pirate, I tried to form a plan of escape.