eated
next him on his powder tub. "There's well-nigh a score of poor fellows
killed or wounded within the last half-hour. It may be the lot of one
of us before long."

"Oh, dear! I hope not," cried Tom. "I wish the skipper would try and
get away instead of fighting the Frenchmen. Two to one is fearful odds
against us, and we shall have the two other ships blazing away at our
heads before long."

"We haven't much to fear from them," said Jack. "I have just heard
they're corvettes, and they won't be up to us until we've given the
other two a drubbing, and have made sail again to the northward."

The two corvettes were, however, likely to prove no despicable
opponents, and Captain Martin was only watching until he had knocked
away the masts or spars of one or both of the frigates, to make sail and
escape, for it would have been madness to have continued the fight
longer than was necessary to accomplish that object.

The Frenchmen, however, fought bravely, and evidently did not intend to
let him get off if they could help it. Each had just fired another
broadside into the _Thisbe_, when they were seen to haul their wind, the
two ships coming up astern doing the same. The reason of this was
evident: the line-of-battle ship to the westward, now approaching under
a pressure of sail, had hoisted British colours, and any longer delay
would have enabled her quickly to capture one or both of them. The
brave crew of the _Thisbe_ expressed their satisfaction by giving a loud
cheer, which was joined in even by many of the wounded.

Captain Martin had accomplished his object; he had secured the safety of
his prize, and his crew, now swarming aloft, set to work rapidly to knot
and splice the rigging which had been shot away.

As soon as this had been accomplished sufficiently to make sail, the
_Thisbe_, brought to the wind, stood after the flying enemy, firing her
bow chasers as she did so; but it was soon seen that she had little
chance of coming up with them. Still her captain persevered; but, with
both masts and spars wounded, it was impossible to carry as much sail as
would otherwise have been done. Consequently, before long the
line-of-battle ship, which made the signal _Terrible_, seventy-four,
overtook her.

A cheer rose from the deck of the big ship, which came gliding slowly
by. Her captain hailed, "Well done, Martin!"

The pursuit was continued for some time, but night was approaching, and
the coast of F