hese tactics.
Stand by there! She is running back again."

To the great amazement of all on board the cruisers, except perhaps
one or two, the great Dutch vessel, which might haply have escaped by
standing on her present course, spun round like a top, and bore in again
among her three pursuers. She had the heels of all of them before the
wind, and might have run down any intercepter, but seemed not to know
it, or to lose all nerve. "Thank the Lord in heaven, all rogues are
fools! She may double as she will, but she is ours now. Signal Albatross
and Kestrel to stand in."

In a few minutes all four were standing for the bay; the Dutch vessel
leading with all sail set, the cruisers following warily, and spreading,
to head her from the north or south. It was plain that they had her well
in the toils; she must either surrender or run ashore; close hauled as
she was, she could not run them down, even if she would dream of such an
outrage.

So far from showing any sign of rudeness was the smuggling vessel, that
she would not even plead want of light as excuse for want of courtesy.
For running past the royal cutters, who took much longer to come about,
she saluted each of them with deep respect for the swallowtail of his
Majesty. And then she bore on, like the admiral's ship, with signal for
all to follow her.

"Such cursed impudence never did I see," cried every one of the revenue
skippers, as they all were compelled to obey her. "Surrender she must,
or else run upon the rocks. Does the fool know what he is driving at?"

The fool, who was Master James Brown of Grimsby, knew very well what
he was about. Every shoal, and sounding, and rocky gut, was thoroughly
familiar to him, and the spread of faint light on the waves and
alongshore told him all his bearings. The loud cackle of laughter, which
Grimsby men (at the cost of the rest of the world) enjoy, was carried by
the wind to the ears of Nettlebones.

The latter set fast his teeth, and ground them; for now in the rising
of the large full moon he perceived that the beach of the cove was black
with figures gathering rapidly. "I see the villain's game; it is all
clear now," he shouted, as he slammed his spy-glass. "He means to run in
where we dare not follow: and he knows that Carroway is out of hail. The
hull may go smash for the sake of the cargo; and his flat-bottomed tub
can run where we can not. I dare not carry after him--court-martial if I
do: that is where those fe