"Indeed! Pray tell me how it was."

"Why, you see, Tom, it was just at the breaking out of the war. It was
in this very month of October, '93, that I was out in a galley with some
others, looking for vessels. I had just then left off privateering, and
got my warrant as pilot (for you know I did serve my 'prenticeship,
before I went a-privateering, as I told you the other night). Well, it
was a blowing night, and we were running in for the Downs, intending to
beach the galley and sleep on shore, for we had been out five days, and
only put a pilot on board of one vessel. We were just to windward of the
Sands, out there, where I am now pointing. The sea was very rough, but
the night was clear, and the moon shone bright, when we saw a brig
running down before the wind, under foresail and close-reefed topsails.
'Why, Bill, as she steers she'll be right between the Callipers,' said I
to the man sitting by me. 'There's no mistake about that,' replied he;
'let's haul the foresheet to windward, and lay to, to hail him; he's
coming right down upon us.' Well, we did so, and we hailed some time
without any answer. At last a man looked over the gunnel, just as she
was flying past us, and told us in Dutch to go to the devil. 'I think
you'll go there if you don't look sharp,' replied Bill. 'Come, my lads,
we may as well follow her, and see if we cannot prevent mischief.' So we
bore up after her, and hailed her several times, for we sailed very
fast, and there was a scuffling on deck. I think that the captain was
drunk. All this passed in less than five minutes; and then, as I knew
would be the case, she struck on the sands, and with such force that all
her masts went over the side immediately. Now, the sea rolls awfully
over the shallow water of those sands, Tom. We had kept with her as far
as we dared, and then hove-to about two cables' lengths to windward of
her, when she struck, for the ebb was still running strong under our
lee, which only made the sea more cross and heavy. The waves made a
clean breach over her, and we knew that she would go to pieces in less
than half-an-hour; but we did not like to leave so many to perish
without a trial to save them. So we kept away, so as to get abreast of
them, and then lowered our sails and got out our oars. We pulled close
to them, but it was impossible to board. We should have been stove to
pieces and swamped immediately. The moon still shone bright, and we saw
them as plain as we coul