weather braces. Quarter-master abaft, tend the boom-sheet. Port hard,
Swinburne."

"Port it is, sir," replied Swinburne; and the brig rounded up on the
wind, shooting up under the sterns of the two weathermost schooners, and
discharging the broadsides into them as the guns bore.

"Be smart and load, my lads, and stand by the same guns. Round in the
weather head-braces. Peter, I don't want her to go about. Stand by to
haul over the boom-sheet, when she pays off. Swinburne, helm amidships."

By this time another broadside was poured into the schooner, who had not
yet returned our fire, which, having foolishly remained hove to the
wind, they could not do. The brig had now stern way, and O'Brien then
executed a very skilful manoeuvre: he shifted the helm, and made a stern
board, so as to back in between the two weather schooners and the one to
leeward, bracing round at the same time on the other tack.

"Man both sides, my lads, and give them your broadsides as we pass."

The men stationed at the starboard guns flew over, and the other side
being again loaded, we exchanged broadsides with the leeward and one of
the windward schooners, the brig continuing her stern way until we
passed ahead of them. By the time that we had re-loaded, the brig had
gathered headway, and again passed between the same two schooners,
exchanging broadsides, and then passing astern of them.

"Capital, my lads--capital!" said O'Brien; "this is what I call good
fighting." And so it was; for O'Brien had given two raking broadsides,
and four others, receiving only two in return, for the schooners were
not ready for us when we passed between them the last time.

The smoke had now rolled away to leeward, and we were able to see the
effect of our broadsides. The middle schooner had lost her main-boom,
and appeared very much cut up in the hull. The schooner to leeward did
not appear to have suffered much; but they now perceived their error,
and made sail. They had expected that we should have run in between
them, and fought broadside to broadside, by which means the weathermost
schooner would have taken a raking position, while the others engaged us
to windward and to leeward. Our own damages were trifling--two men
slightly wounded, and one main shroud cut away. We ran about half a mile
astern from them; then with both broadsides ready, we tacked, and found
that, as we expected, we could weather the whole of them. This we did;
O'Brien running the brig