proved
to be so disabled that the admiral ordered her to return to Port
Royal, so that we had five ships against the enemy's nine. During
the day our vessels drew somewhat closer to us, the Falmouth being
the foremost, and we gained some four miles upon the enemy by
sunset.

Ever since we had first sighted the Frenchmen, Mr. Benbow had
snatched but a few hours' sleep each night, and was becoming worn
out for want of rest and for bitter mortification at the ill
conduct of his captains. 'Tis true the enemy had shown no
disposition to stand, and the light winds had not favored the
overhauling of them, and I was very sure that in the case of
Captain Vincent, at any rate, 'twas sheer ill luck that prevented
him from giving the admiral support. But I had other ideas of the
behavior of the captains of the vessels that hung back most.
Captain Kirkby of the Defiance and Captain Wade of the Greenwich I
knew to be of the anti-Benbow party, and though I had not the same
knowledge of Captain Constable of the Windsor and Captain Hudson of
the Pendennis, I suspected that they were infected by the same
blight, for I could not believe that officers of the English navy
could be arrant cowards.

On the night of the twenty-fourth I had the middle watch. Towards
two o'clock Joe Punchard came to me, smoking a pipe, and looking
more miserable than I had ever seen him.

"Twill break my captain's heart if we have another day of it," he
says gloomily. "He looks five years older than he did when we left
Port Royal. He can't sleep, and if he do fall into a doze he starts
up like a child out of a bad dream. He swears he will court martial
the captains, every man jack of them, when we get to port, but that
won't win us the battle, and he has set his heart on giving the
Frenchmen a drubbing. And he's took a notion that he'll never get
through alive, which is so uncommon unlike him, being mostly so
cheery, that it gives me the dumps bad."

I was saying what I could to cheer the good fellow when the lookout
cries he sees a sail ahead. The admiral rushes out of his cabin and
orders the drums to beat to quarters. In an instant, as it seemed,
the decks were full of men. 'Twas a clear night, with very little
wind, and we could see one of the French ships within hail of us.
We gave her a tremendous broadside from all three decks at once,
with double shot, round below, and round and partridge aloft. She
returned it hotly, striking down many of our goo