s some of his masts cut down. He was confident in his power to
beat off the two privateers, and he therefore did not add a stitch of
canvas to the easy sail under which he had been holding on all night.

Presently a puff of smoke shot out from the bow of the schooner from
the weather quarter, followed almost instantaneously by one from her
consort. Two round shot struck up the water, the one under the
Indiaman's stern, the other under her forefoot.

"The rascals are well within range," the captain said quietly. "See,
they are taking off canvas again. They intend to keep at that
distance, and hammer away at us. Just what I thought would be their
tactics."

Two more shots were fired by the schooners. One flew over the deck
between the masts, and plunged harmlessly in the sea beyond. The other
struck the hull with a dull crash.

"It is lucky the ladies were sent into the hold," the captain said.
"That shot has gone right through their cabin.

"Now, my lads, have you got the sights well upon them? Fire!"

The four thirty-two pounders spoke out almost at the same moment, and
all gazed over the bulwarks anxiously to watch the effect, and a cheer
arose as it was seen how accurate had been the aim of the gunners. One
shot struck the schooner to windward in the bow, a foot or two above
the water level. Another went through her foresail, close to the mast.

"A foot more, and you would have cut his foremast asunder."

The vessel to leeward had been struck by only one shot, the other
passing under her stern. She was struck just above her deck line, the
shot passing through the bulwark, and, as they thought on board the
merchantman, narrowly missing if not actually striking the mainmast.

"There is some damage done," Dr. Rae said, keeping his glass fixed on
the vessel. "There is a good deal of running about on deck there."

It was evident that the display of the heavy metal carried by the
Indiaman was an unpleasant surprise to the privateers. Both lowered
sail and ceased firing, and there was then a rapid exchange of signals
between them.

"They don't like it," the captain said, laughing. "They see that they
cannot play the game they expected, and that they've got to take as
well as to give. Now it depends upon the sort of stuff their captains
are made of, whether they give it up at once, or come straight up to
close quarters.

"Ah! They mean fighting."

As he spoke, a cloud of canvas was spread upon the schooners and