one escaped;
thirty were made prisoners, many of them sorely wounded, and the rest were
either killed or swept away by the tide and drowned. The privateers
actually had more prisoners than they had men of their own. Some of the
prisoners were kept towing in a launch at the stern, and, by way of
strategy, Captain Ordronaux set two boys to playing a fife and drum and
stamping about in a sequestered part of his decks as though he had a heavy
force aboard. Only by sending the prisoners ashore under parole was the
danger of an uprising among the captives averted.

[Illustration: IF THEY RETREATED FARTHER HE WOULD BLOW UP THE SHIP]

In the end the "Prince de Neufchatel" was captured by a British squadron,
but only after a sudden squall had carried away several of her spars and
made her helpless.

As the war progressed it became the custom of British merchants to send
out their ships only in fleets, convoyed by one or two men-of-war, a
system that, of course, could be adopted only by nations very rich in
war-ships. The privateers' method of meeting this was to cruise in
couples, a pair of swift, light schooners, hunting the prize together.
When the convoy was encountered, both would attack, picking out each its
prey. The convoys were usually made up with a man-of-war at the head of
the column, and as this vessel would make sail after one of the
privateers, the other would rush in at some point out of range, and cut
out its prize. When the British began sending out two ships of war with
each convoy, the privateers cruised in threes, and the same tactics were
observed.

But the richest prizes won by the privateer were the single going ships,
called "running ships," that were prepared to defend themselves, and
scorned to wait for convoy. These were generally great packets trading to
the Indies, whose cargoes were too valuable to be delayed until some
man-of-war could be found for their protection. They were heavily armed,
often, indeed, equaling a frigate in their batteries and the size of their
crews. But, although to attack one of these meant a desperate fight, the
Yankee privateer always welcomed the chance, for besides a valuable cargo,
they were apt to carry a considerable sum in specie. The capture of one of
these vessels, too, was the cause of annoyance to the enemy
disproportionate to even their great value to their captors, for they not
only carried the Royal Mail, but were usually the agencies by which the
dispatch