is they did the same, and by putting
all their boats to two ships they got ahead faster.

I cannot tell the whole story of this race, but it lasted for nearly
three days, from Friday afternoon till Monday morning. Now there was a
light breeze and now a dead calm. Now they pulled the ships by boats and
now by kedging. That is, an anchor was carried out a long way ahead and
let sink, and then the men pulled on the line until the ship was brought
up over it. Then the anchor would be drawn up and carried and dropped
ahead again.

For two long days and nights the chase kept up, during which the
_Constitution_ was kept, by weary labor, just out of gunshot ahead. At
four o'clock Sunday morning the British ships had got on both sides of
the _Constitution_, and it looked as if she was in a tight corner. But
Captain Hull now turned and steered out to sea, across the bows of the
_Eolus_, and soon had them astern again.

The same old game went on until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they
saw signs of a coming squall. Captain Hull knew how to deal with an
American squall, but the Englishmen did not. He kept his men towing
until he saw the sea ruffled by the wind about a mile away. Then he
called the boats in and in a moment let fall all his sails.

Looking at the British, he saw them hard at work furling their sails.
They had let all their boats go adrift. But Captain Hull had not furled
a sail, and the minute a vapor hid his ship from the enemy all his sails
were spread to the winds and away went the Yankee ship in rapid flight.
He had taught his foes a lesson in American seamanship.

When the squall cleared away the British ships were far astern. But the
wind fell again and all that night the chase kept up. Captain Hull threw
water on his sails and made every rag of canvas draw. When daylight came
only the top sails of the enemy could be seen. At eight o'clock they
gave up the chase and turned on their heels. Thus ended that wonderful
three days chase, one of the most remarkable in naval history.

And now we come to the greatest story in the history of the "Old
Ironsides." In less than a month after the _Guerriere_ had helped to
chase her off the Jersey coast, she gave that proud ship a lesson which
the British nation did not soon forget. Here is the story of that famous
fight, by which Captain Hull won high fame:

In the early morning of August 19, while the old ship was bowling along
easily off the New England coast,