with increased animation.
They were evidently eager to get to the mouth of the harbour, whence
they could look seaward.

"They think that there is something in the wind, depend on that,"
observed Trundle.

Presently the firing became more and more rapid, seeming to our ears to
come nearer and nearer. The Frenchmen could no longer restrain their
eagerness to learn the cause of the firing, and totally disregarding,
probably indeed forgetting us, off they set running towards the shore as
fast as their legs could carry them. We waited for a few minutes to let
them have a fair start, and then followed in their wake for some
distance, turning off, however, after a time, to the right, so that,
should they come back to look for us, we might not so easily be found.
We in a short time reached a high rocky mound, whence we got a view of
the sea spread out before us. Within a mile and a half of the land were
two ships, both with topgallant sails set, standing in close-hauled
towards the harbour. The wind was somewhat off the land, but yet, if it
continued steady, it was possible that they might fetch the
harbour-mouth. Such, it appeared evident, was the object of the one,
while to prevent her so doing was the aim of the other, which was the
larger and nearer to us. As soon as the two midshipmen set eyes on the
latter, they clapped their hands like children with delight, exclaiming
at the top of their voices, "The _Phoebe_! the _Phoebe_! hurrah!
hurrah!" O'Carroll took a more steady glance at the other ship, and
then shouted, with no less delight, "And that's the _Mignonne_, and La
Roche's day has come at last."

"I should hope so, indeed," cried Trundle; "depend on it the _Phoebe_
won't have done with him till she has made him eat a big dish of humble
pie."

The frigate kept firing rapidly her foremost guns at the Frenchman, who
replied to them in a spirited manner with his aftermost ones, as they
could be brought to bear. He was all the time luffing up, trying to eat
into the wind, as it were; but as that was scant, it gave the _Phoebe_,
which was well to windward, a great advantage, and she was now rapidly
coming up with him. As she did so, she every now and then luffed up for
an instant, and let fly her whole broadside, doing considerable
execution. We eagerly watched the effect of the shot. The Frenchman's
sails were soon riddled, and several of his spars seemed to be wounded,
many of his ropes, too, hanging in