nals,' as one might say."

"Bend on the signals to close up in line, as near as safe, and to carry
sail by the flag-ship."

"Ay, ay, Sir Gervaise--we'll have 'em both up in five minutes, sir."

The commander-in-chief now even seemed pleased. His physical excitement
returned a little, and a smile struggled round his lip. His eye glanced
at Greenly, to see if he were suspected, and then all his calmness of
exterior returned. In the mean time the signals were made and answered.
The latter circumstance was reported to Sir Gervaise, who cast his eyes
down the line astern, and saw that the different ships were already
bracing in, and easing off their sheets, in order to diminish the spaces
between the different vessels. As soon as it was apparent that the
Carnatic was drawing ahead, Captain Greenly was told to lay his main and
fore-yards nearly square, to light up all his stay-sail sheets, and to
keep away sufficiently to make every thing draw. Although these orders
occasioned surprise, they were implicitly obeyed.

The moment of meeting had now come. In consequence of having kept away
so much, the Plantagenet could not be quite three-fourths of a mile on
the weather-bow of _le Temeraire_, coming up rapidly, and threatening a
semi-transverse fire. In order to prevent this, the French ship edged
off a little, giving herself an easier and more rapid movement through
the water, and bringing her own broadside more fairly to the shock. This
evolution was followed by the two next ships, a little prematurely,
perhaps; but the admiral in _le Foudroyant_, disdaining to edge off from
her enemy, kept her luff. The ships astern were governed by the course
of their superior. This change produced a little disorder in the van of
the French, menacing still greater, unless one party or the other
receded from the course taken. But time pressed, and the two fleets were
closing so fast as to induce other thoughts.

"There's lubberly work for you, Greenly!" said Sir Gervaise, smiling. "A
commander-in-chief heading up with the bowlines dragged, and his second
and third ahead--not to say fourth--running off with the wind abeam!
Now, if we can knock the Comte off a couple of points, in passing, all
his fellows astern will follow, and the Warspite and Blenheim and
Thunderer will slip by like girls in a country-dance! Send Bury down to
the main-deck, with orders to be ready with those eighteens."

Greenly obeyed, of course, and he began to think