u?"

"In it! I should just think so," replied Jack Brace, looking
contemplatively at his mutilated finger. "Why, I was in Lord Nelson's
own ship, the _Victory_. Come, I'll give you an outline of it. This is
how it began."

The ex-man-of-war's-man puffed vigorously for a few seconds, to get the
pipe well alight, he remarked, and collect his thoughts.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

JACK BRACE STIRS UP THE WAR SPIRIT OF ADAMS.

"You must know, John Adams," said Jack Brace, with a look and a clearing
of the throat that raised great expectations in the breasts of the
listeners, "you must know that for a long while before the battle Lord
Nelson had bin scourin' the seas, far and near, in search o' the French
and Spanish fleets, but do what he would, he could never fall in with
'em. At last he got wind of 'em in Cadiz Harbour, and made all sail to
catch 'em. It was on the 19th of October 1805 that Villeneuve, that was
the French admiral, put to sea with the combined fleets o' France and
Spain. It wasn't till daybreak of the 21st that we got sight of 'em,
right ahead, formed in close line, about twelve miles to lee'ard,
standin' to the s'uth'ard, off Cape Trafalgar.

"Ha, John Adams, an' boys an' girls all, you should have seen that
sight; it would have done you good. An' you should have felt our
buzzums; they was fit to bust, _I_ tell you! You see, we'd bin chasin'
of 'em so long, that we could scarce believe our eyes when we saw 'em at
long last. They wor bigger ships and more of 'em than ours; but what
cared Nelson for that? not the shank of a brass button! he rather liked
that sort o' thing; for, you know, one Englishman is equal to three
Frenchmen any day."

"No, no, Jack Brace," said John Adams, with a quiet smile and shake of
the head; "'snot quite so many as that."

"Not _quite_!" repeated Brace, vehemently; "why, it's my opinion that I
could lick any six o' the Mounseers myself. Thursday November Christian
there--"

"He ain't November yet," interrupted Adams, quietly, "he's only
October."

"No matter, it's all the same. I tell 'ee, John, that he could wallop
twenty of 'em, easy. There ain't no go in 'em at all."

"Didn't you tell me, Jack Brace, that Trafalgar was a glorious battle?"

"In coorse I did, for so it was."

"Didn't the Frenchmen stick to their guns like men?"

"No doubt of it."

"An' they didn't haul down their colours, I suppose, till they was about
blown to shivers?"

"You'r