sh him!"

As this order was given, Ludlow passed swiftly forward. He found the
hoarders ready for a spring, and he rapidly gave his orders. The men were
told to carry the brigantine at every hazard, but not to offer violence,
unless serious resistance was made. They were thrice enjoined not to enter
the cabins, and the young man expressed a generous wish that, in every
case, the 'Skimmer of the Seas' might be taken alive. By the time these
directions were given, the light was so near that the malign countenance
of the sea-green lady was seen in every lineament. Ludlow looked, in vain,
for the spars, in order to ascertain in which direction the head of the
brigantine lay; but, trusting to luck, he saw that the decisive moment was
come.

"Starboard, and run him aboard!--Away there, you boarders, away! Heave
with your grapnels; heave, men, with a long swing, heave! Meet her, with
the helm--hard down--meet her--steady!"--was shouted in a clear, full, and
steady voice, that seemed to deepen at each mandate which issued from the
lips of the young captain.

The boarders cheered heartily, and leaped into the rigging. The Coquette
readily and rapidly yielded to the power of her rudder. First inclining to
the light, and then sweeping up towards the wind again, in another instant
she was close upon the chase. The irons were thrown, the men once more
shouted, and all on board held their breaths in expectation of the crash
of the meeting hulls. At that moment of high excitement, the woman's face
rose a short distance in the air, seemed to smile in derision of their
attempt, and suddenly disappeared. The ship passed steadily ahead, while
no noise but the sullen wash of the waters was audible. The boarding-irons
were heard falling heavily into the sea; and the Coquette rapidly overrun
the spot where the light had been seen, without sustaining any shock.
Though the clouds lifted a little, and the eye might embrace a circuit of
a few hundred feet, there certainly was nothing to be seen, within its
range, but the unquiet element, and the stately cruiser of Queen Anne
floating on its bosom.

Though its effects were different on the differently-constituted minds of
those who witnessed the singular incident, the disappointment was general.
The common impression was certainly unfavorable to the earthly character
of the brigantine; and when opinions of this nature once get possession of
the ignorant, they are not easily removed. Even Trysa