my
messmates as usual.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

The Doris under all sail, with our hard-won prize in tow, kept standing
to the northward, the gallant Hercules bringing up the rear, while the
French fleet, like a pack of yelping hounds, followed full chase at our
heels.

A stern chase is a long chase, and so we hoped this might prove, without
an end to it.

Our glasses, as may be supposed, were constantly turned towards the
enemy. They had not gained much on us when the sun went down, and
darkness stole over the surface of the ocean. Clouds were gathering in
the sky--there was no moon, and the stars were completely obscured. It
was in a short time as dark a night as we could desire. The Hercules,
looking like some huge monster stalking over the deep, now ranged up
past us, and a voice from her ordered us to tack to the westward, and
keep close to her. This we did, though we had no little difficulty in
keeping together without lights, which we did not show, lest we might
have been seen by the enemy.

The next morning, when we looked round, not one of the French squadron
was in sight, greatly to the vexation of our prisoners, who had hoped by
this time to have seen the scales turned on us. We were out of the
frying-pan, but before long we had reason to fear that we had tumbled
into the fire.

Two days after this, when morning broke, we found ourselves enveloped by
a thick fog. There was but little wind, and the sea was perfectly
smooth. Suddenly the distant roar of a gun burst on our ears. It was
answered by another much nearer; a third boomed over the waters on the
other side of us. Others followed; then fog-bells began to ring--louder
and more distinct they sounded; and more guns were fired.

"What's all that about?" I asked of the boatswain, who was looking out
on the forecastle. "Why, that we are in the middle of a big fleet of
men-of-war, and if, as I suspect, they are French, and they catch sight
of us, they'll make mince-meat of our carcases in pretty quick time," he
answered, squirting a whole river of tobacco juice overboard, a proof to
me that he was not pleased with the state of affairs.

"Why, I thought it was a French fleet we escaped from only two days
ago," I remarked.

"So it was, and this is another," he answered. "In my opinion we shall
never get things to rights till we send to the bottom every French ship
there is afloat, and we shall do that before long if we can but get a
good s