A Pirate of the Caribbees | Page 5

no sooner had the first lieutenant reported everything ready than
the order was given to shorten sail; and a pretty sight it was to see how
smartly and with what beautifully perfect precision everything was
done at once, the studding-sails all collapsing and coming in together at
exactly the same moment that the three royals were clewed up and the
flight of staysails on the main and mizzen masts hauled down.
"Very prettily done, Mr Dawson," said the skipper approvingly. "Our
friends yonder will see that they have seamen to deal with, at all events,
even though we cannot sport such a clean pair of heels as their own."
The two Frenchmen were by this time within less than half a mile of us,
converging upon us in such a manner as to range up alongside the
Althea within the toss of a biscuit on either hand, but neither of them
manifested the slightest disposition to follow our example by
shortening sail. Perhaps they believed that, were they to do so, we
should at once make sail again and endeavour to escape, whereas by
holding on to everything until they drew up alongside us, we should
fall an easy prey to their superior strength, if indeed we did not
surrender at discretion.
And, truly, the two ships formed a noble and a graceful picture as they
came sweeping rapidly down upon us with every stitch of canvas set

that they could possibly spread, their white sails towering spire-like
into the deep, tender blue of the cloudless heavens, with the delicate
purple shadows chasing each other athwart the rounded bosoms of
them as the hulls that up-bore them swung pendulum-like, with a little
curl of snow under their bows, over the low hillocks of swell that
chased them, sparkling in the brilliant sunlight like a heaving floor of
sapphire strewed broadcast with diamonds.
They stood on, silent as the grave, until the craft on our larboard
quarter--which was leading by about a couple of lengths--had reached
to within a short quarter of a mile of us, when, as we all stood watching
them intently, a jet of flame, followed by a heavy burst of white smoke,
leapt out from her starboard bow port, and the next instant the shot
went humming close past us, to dash up the water in a fountain-like jet
a quarter of a mile ahead of us.
"That, I take it, is a polite request to us to heave-to and haul down our
colours," remarked Captain Harrison to the first lieutenant, with a smile.
"Well, we may as well return the compliment, Mr Dawson. Try a shot
at each of them with the stern-chasers. If we could only manage to
knock away an important spar on board either of them it might so
cripple her as to cause her to drop astern, leaving us to deal with the
other one and settle her business out of hand. Yes, aim at their spars,
Mr Dawson. It would perhaps have been better had we opened fire
directly they were within range, but I was anxious not to make a
mistake. Now that they have fired upon us, however, we need hesitate
no longer."
The order was accordingly given to open fire with our stern-chasers,
and in less than a minute the two guns spoke out simultaneously,
jarring the old hooker to her keel. We were unable for a moment to see
the effect of the shots, for the smoke blew in over our taffrail,
completely hiding our two pursuers for a few seconds; but when it
cleared away a cheer broke from the men who were manning the after
guns, for it was seen that the flying-jib stay of our antagonist on the
port quarter was cut and the sail towing from the jib-boom end, a neat
hole in her port foretopmast studding-sail showing where the shot had

passed. The other gun had been less successful, the shot having passed
through the head of the second frigate's foresail about four feet below
the yard and half- way between the slings and the starboard yardarm,
without inflicting any further perceptible damage.
"Very well-meant! Let them try again," exclaimed the skipper
approvingly. And as the words issued from his lips we saw the two
pursuing frigates yaw broadly outward, as if by common consent, and
the next instant they both let drive a whole broadside at us. I waited
breathlessly while one might have counted "one--two," and then the
sound of an ominous crashing aloft told me that we were wounded
somewhere among our spars. A block, followed by a shower of
splinters, came hurtling down on deck, breaking the arm of a man at the
aftermost quarter-deck gun on the port side, and then a louder crash
aloft caused me to look