t. Forward, there! are you ready with
the pivot gun?"

"All ready, sir," was the reply.

"Then just give the frigate a taste of your quality. We will keep away
a couple of points so that you may have a fair chance; and see if you
can't make the shot tell."

"Ay, ay, sir; if I don't make the splinters fly you may stop my grog for
the next month," answered Collins, the captain of the gun, who happened
to be a bit of a favourite with me, and was a trifle free in his
language in consequence.

The gun was carefully levelled; and, when they were all ready, Woodford
gently put the helm up; the schooner gradually fell off from the wind,
and presently there was a deafening explosion, accompanied by a jarring
concussion which shook the schooner from stem to stern; and as the smoke
drove away to leeward we saw a jet of spray a dozen feet high shoot into
the air as the ball struck the crest of a wave, and in another instant a
white patch of naked wood appeared exactly in the centre of a port-sill,
showing where the shot had hulled the frigate.

"Good! if that hasn't crippled one of their guns I'm a Dutchman,"
ejaculated Woodford, letting the schooner come up "full and by" once
more.

"Very good indeed, Collins," I shouted. "Load again, my fine fellow, as
quickly as possible. Sail trimmers, ready about! Mr Boyne, see that
the muzzles of your larboard broadside guns are well elevated, and fire
as they are brought to bear. Take steady aim, lads, and do not throw
away a single shot if you can help it. Ha! he is going to rake us!
Down with your helm, Woodford. Helm's a-lee! Ease up your jib-sheets,
forward, there! Round in upon the main-sheet, smartly, men. Let draw
the fore-sheet; braces let go and haul!"

The schooner--what a beauty she was!--worked like a top, and was round
on the other tack, presenting her broadside to the frigate, when the
latter launched the whole contents of her larboard battery at us.
Almost at the same moment we fired the four eighteens in our larboard
battery at her; and then, before we had time to note the damage done, if
any, her shot came screaming about our ears. There was a crash on board
the schooner, but only one; it was caused by a shot passing through our
weather bulwarks and striking a ring-bolt in the deck, after which it
bounded high in the air and went overboard to leeward. There were a
couple of holes in our beautiful mainsail, and one in the flying-jib;
but beyond that we w