r attack were pouring cannon balls and musket
shot upon him, he blazed away with his cannon and his muskets. The three
vessels were so near each other that sometimes their yard-arms almost
touched, so that this terrible fight seemed almost like a hand-to-hand
conflict. For four hours the roaring of the cannon, the crushing of
timbers, the almost continuous discharge of musketry were kept up, while
the smoke of the battle frequently almost prevented the crews of the
contending ships from seeing each other. Not so very far away the people
of Charles Town, who were standing on the shores of their beautiful
harbor, could see the fierce fight which was going on, and great was the
excitement and anxiety throughout the city.

But the time came when two ships grew too much for one, and as the
_Royal James_ and the _Sea-Nymph_ were able to take positions by which
they could rake the deck of the pirate vessel, many of her men gave up
the fight and rushed down into the hold to save their lives. Then both
the Charles Town vessels bore down upon the pirate and boarded her, and
now there was another savage battle with pistols and cutlasses. The
pirate captain and several of his crew were still on deck, and they
fought like wounded lions, and it was not until they had all been cut
down or shot that victory came to the men of Charles Town.

Very soon after this terrible battle was over the waiting crowds in the
city saw a glorious sight; the pirate ship came sailing slowly up the
harbor, a captured vessel, with the _Sea-Nymph_ on one side and the
_Royal James_ on the other, the colors of the Crown flying from the
masts of each one of the three.

The other pirate ship, which was quite large, seemed to be more
fortunate than her companion, for she was able to get out to sea, and
spreading all her sails she made every effort to escape. Governor
Johnson, however, had no idea of letting her get away if he could help
it. When a civilian goes out to fight a sea-battle he naturally wants to
show what he can do, and Governor Johnson did not mean to let people
think that Mr. Rhett was a better naval commander than he was. He
ordered the _Mediterranean_ and the _King William_ to put on all sail,
and away they went after the big ship. The retreating pirates did
everything they could to effect escape, throwing over their cannon, and
even their boats, in order to lighten their ship, but it was of no use.
The Governor's vessels were the faster sail