rstand me, Mr Keene?"

"Perfectly, sir," replied I.

"Well, then, I trust to your discretion, Mr Keene, and hope I shall not
be disappointed. Now you may go."

"The French ship is getting up her yard tackles," said the signal man.

"Then you have no time to lose, Mr Keene. As for the small boats, they
are of no consequence."

I went down the side, and shoved off. Our men gave way cheerfully and
manfully; and the three boats of the Frenchmen had but a little start of
us. In half an hour we were both within less than a mile of the
merchant vessel; but the French boats were the nearest of the two. The
affair now became very exciting. In another ten minutes the French
boats had gained the merchant vessel, and the men were clambering up her
sides, while we were not more than three cables' length from them. That
Tommy Dott was defending himself was to be presumed, as a good deal of
firing took place; but before we could get alongside, it was evident
that he and his men had been mastered, and the French were in possession
of the vessel. But now our turn came. Dividing my boats, six in
number, into two divisions, we boarded on both sides, and very soon had
regained the vessel and mastered the French, who did not amount to more
than thirty-five men, while we had more than seventy.

We found that the Frenchmen had not spared our people on board of the
vessel, all of them being wounded or killed; but the fact was that Tommy
Dott had fought most nobly, and resisted to the very last. He himself--
poor fellow!--lay against the cap-stern, with his head cut open by a
blow of a cutlass, and quite insensible. As soon as we had secured the
prisoners, I turned my eyes to the line-of-battle ship, and saw that her
large boats had shoved off; they were five in number, but much larger,
and holding more men than we had.

A little reflection decided me that we should have a better chance of
resisting them on board of the vessel than in the boats; and I
determined that I would get my boats' guns up on board of the vessel,
and arm her in that way. It was necessary, however, to secure our
boats, that they might not cut them away from alongside; I therefore, as
soon as the guns and ammunition were on board, lowered the iron chain
cable down from the bows, and passed it from one boat to the other under
the fixed thwarts of each boat, including those captured from the
French, hauling the end of the cable on board again through the s