. Preparations had been made aboard the _Henry_ and _Sea
Nymph_ for an immediate advance up the river. Hardly had the first slant
beams of sunlight struck upon Rhett's deck before the crew were lustily
pulling at the main halyards and winding in the anchor chain.

But even before the two Carolina sloops were under way there was an
excited chorus of "Here he comes!" and above the dune at the bend of the
river, appeared the headsails of the _Royal James_. Bonnet had weighed
his chances and decided for a running fight. The pirate ship cleared the
point, nearly a mile away, and came flying down, every inch of canvas
drawing in the stiff offshore breeze. It seemed for a moment as if she
might get safely past the Carolinians and out to sea, with the _Queen_
as her only antagonist. Probably Bonnet had counted on the
unexpectedness of his maneuver to accomplish this result. But if so, he
had left out of his reckoning the character of William Rhett. That
gentleman hesitated not an instant, but headed upstream directly toward
the enemy. Fortunately, he had two good skippers in Masters and Hall,
for the good Colonel himself knew little of sailing. Thanks to these
lieutenants, the two attacking sloops were let off the wind at exactly
the right time, and filled away down the river close together off the
pirate's starboard bow. Bonnet raced up abeam, firing broadsides as fast
as his men could load, and his cannonade was answered in kind from the
_Henry_. She and the _Sea Nymph_ began to veer over to port, forcing the
black sloop closer and closer to shore, but the buccaneer Captain
refused to take in an inch of sail. His course was all but justified.
The speedy craft which he commanded gained on her foes hand over hand
till, when only a few hundred yards from the narrow mouth of the
estuary, she led them both by her own length.

From the deck of the _Queen_ Jeremy and Bob could pick out the big form
of Herriot at the tiller. Just as the _Royal James_ passed into the
lead, they saw him swing mightily on the long steering-beam while at the
same instant the main sheet was hauled in. It was prettily done. The
pirate went hard over to starboard, kicking up a wave of spray as she
slewed. She sprang away from under the bows of the _Henry_ with only
inches to spare, for the bowsprit of Rhett's sloop tore the edge of her
mainsail in passing. The fierce cheer that rose from the deck of the
black buccaneer was drowned in a jarring crash. She ha