rake her most
handsomely.

The Frenchman, meanwhile, having got himself into what Courtenay would
have termed "the centre of a hobble," was very busily doing his best to
get out of it again--and in a very seamanlike way, too, notwithstanding
his former mistake--by clewing up and furling everything abaft his
mainmast and so trimming his yards as to cause the frigate to gather
stern-way and gradually pay off again. This, however, was a work of
some little time, hampered as the ship was with wreck forward; and
before it was done we had passed to windward of her, receiving in so
doing the fire of but seven of her sixteen larboard broadside guns, to
which we replied effectively with our starboard battery. Having reached
far enough to weather her on our next tack we went about, and, crossing
her bows, fired our larboard battery and our thirty-two pounder into her
again, raking her severely and, best of all, bringing her fore-topmast
down by the run. She had by this time paid off sufficiently to have
gathered head-way, and her crew actually managed to get her before the
wind; but it was only for a few minutes, she soon broached to again; and
being by this time almost entirely bereft of head sail--her foresail
alone remaining--there she hung, in the wind's eye, helpless, and
practically at our mercy. The _Dolphin_ was at once placed in an
advantageous position on the frigate's starboard bow, and kept there by
her topsail being laid aback, whilst the brig took up a corresponding
position on the enemy's starboard quarter; and we then both opened a
raking fire upon her so effectually that ten minutes later she hauled
down her colours and surrendered.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

THE PRIVATEER AND THE INDIAMAN.

Having satisfied ourselves that the French frigate had actually struck,
we filled on the schooner and ran down under the lee of the brig, where
we once more hove to; our gig was lowered and manned, and I proceeded on
board to see if my services were further required.

On reaching the deck I was met by a man of some five-and-thirty years of
age, evidently the skipper of the craft, who held out his hand to me
most cordially, and exclaimed:

"Welcome, young gentleman, on board his Britannic majesty's brig _Dido_.
You hove in sight just in the nick of time this morning, for, but for
your very effective help, we should have been the captured instead of
the captors by this time. What is the name of your schooner?"

"The _D