Captain O'Brien had
foretold would be the case, gradually favouring her, enabled her to go
much faster through the water than the other. The captain several times
pulled his watch, resembling a big turnip in size, out of his fob.

"The tide will soon be on the turn, and if we are to get home to-night
we must take advantage of it," he observed, "though I should mightily
like to see the end of this."

"Oh, do remain, I pray you," said Ellen; "we can have no difficulty in
getting back to Waterford, for the weather promises to be so fine. Do
you think it possible that Monsieur Thurot can escape?"

"The chances are against him, Miss Ellen, but it is hard to say what may
happen," answered Captain O'Brien. "Captain Olding is not the man, as I
have observed before, to let an enemy slip through his fingers; in less
than half an hour he will get near enough to the Frenchman to send his
shot on board, and he'll stick tightly to him, no fear of that."

Ellen held her breath, as she at length saw the ships approaching each
other. A puff of white smoke issued from the starboard bow of the
_Champion_. The _Coquille_ returned it from her stern-chasers, but the
shot fell harmlessly into the water. Again and again the _Champion_
fired; it was evident that she could only bring her foremost gun to
bear, unless by keeping away and thereby losing ground.

"Thurot knows the coast as well as, or better than, Olding, and is
unwilling to lose the advantage of being to windward," exclaimed Captain
O'Brien. "See, he keeps his luff, and the _Champion_ is compelled to do
the same; I thought it would be so. The _Champion_ is losing the
breeze, which has hitherto been in her favour, and if she doesn't manage
to wing the Frenchman, the fellow, who has evidently a fast pair of
heels, will slip by between her and the land. See, she's not going to
let him do that. Hurrah! she's kept away; there go her broadside guns.
They'll have told, I hope, with effect on the Frenchman. No, by George!
every spar is standing," exclaimed the captain, as the smoke from the
_Champion's_ broadside cleared away. She immediately again came to the
wind. The ships were still too far apart for the shot to do much
damage; they both stood on for some time longer without firing, and were
now so greatly increasing their distance from Red Head that the three
spectators could but imperfectly discern what took place. Again wreaths
of smoke circled above the side of t