ap with joy. It
followed the captain's order to the first lieutenant, "Beat to
quarters." What magic was there in the sound of those words! In an
instant every one, from the first lieutenant to the smallest
powder-monkey, was in full activity. Bulkheads were knocked away,
firescreens were put up, the gallery fire was extinguished, the
magazines were opened, powder and shot were handed up, the small-arms
were served out, the men buckled on their cutlasses, and stuck their
pistols in their belts.

Although Captain Lascelles fully believed that he should gain the
victory, he was too good an officer and too wise a man not to take every
possible means to secure it. It was soon evident that the _Racer_ was
coming up hand-over-hand with the chase, and before long it was clearly
made out that she was, at least, a fifty-gun ship. She showed no
colours, and as to her nationality opinions were divided. Some thought
she was French; but then in opposition to this conjecture, it was
asserted that a French fifty-gun ship was not likely to run away from a
frigate, whereas a Turk or an Egyptian was very likely indeed to do so.
The officers on board them were generally very inefficient, while a
total want of discipline prevailed.

"That craft ahead must have a very bad conscience, or she would not be
in such a hurry to get out of our way," observed Jack; "she's a Turk, or
I am a Dutchman."

"So the captain thinks, which is fortunate, or you might have to turn
into a Dutchman, or else break your word," observed Murray.

"I wish that he were a Frenchman. I should so like to have a tussle
with him," said Jack. "Let people talk as they will about liberty,
equality, and fraternity, I agree with my father, that the French never
will like the English till they have taught us to eat frogs, and have
thrashed us on a second field of Waterloo, and I hope that time may
never come."

"I hope not either," said Murray. "But I have no wish to go to war with
France or Frenchmen. If they are bad friends, they are worse enemies,
and not to be despised, depend on that; no people could have fought
better than they did during the last war."

"That is the reason I should like to fight them again," exclaimed Jack.
"What is the use of fighting with people who can't fight?"

Murray laughed at Jack's style of reasoning. He had not arrived at the
conclusion which an older man might have reached, that fighting under
any circumstances is a dreadf