likely be treated as pirates.

I rather agreed with these last-mentioned opinions; still, as I have
said, I felt ready to undertake any enterprise, however desperate. Hour
after hour passed away. The Frenchmen kept walking the deck and rubbing
their hands, as the prospect of escape increased.

Suddenly we heard them stop. I slipped up again on deck; a breeze had
carried away the mist, and there, right away to windward, was the
English ship, much nearer than when she had last been seen. I did cheer
now, I could not help it. The Frenchmen were too much crestfallen to
resent by a blow what they must have looked upon as an insult, but an
officer coming up, ordered me instantly to go below.

I was obliged to comply, though I longed to remain on deck to see what
course events would take. The people below, as soon as they heard that
a friend was in sight, cheered over and over again, utterly indifferent
to what the Frenchmen might say or do. They did utter not a few
_sacres_ and other strange oaths, but we did not care for them.

The two frigates were, as I said, at the time I went below, close
together, with the French ensigns hoisted on the main-stays. The
British ship was coming up hand over hand after them. We tried to make
out what was going forward by the sounds we heard and the orders given.
Our ship was before the wind. Presently a shot was fired to leeward
from each frigate, and a lad who had crept up, and looked through one of
the ports, reported that the _Ville de Milan_ had hauled her wind on the
larboard tack, and that we were still running before it. We all waited
listening eagerly for some time, and at last a gun was fired, and a shot
struck the side of our ship. Then we knew full well that our
deliverance was not far off. The Frenchmen _sacre'd_ and shouted at
each other louder than ever. Our boatswain had been left on board with
us. He was a daring, dashing fellow.

"Now, my lads, is the time to take the ship from the hands of the
Frenchmen!" he exclaimed. "If we delay, night is coming on, and the
other frigate may get away. If we win back our own ship, it will allow
our friend to go at once in chase of the enemy."

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when we all, seizing handspikes
and boat-stretchers, and indeed anything we could convert into weapons,
knocked over the sentry at the main hatchway, and springing on deck,
rushed fore and aft, and while the Frenchmen stood at their gu