nd compel her to tack. This
will throw the rear of our line into confusion!"

"What should we do, sir, in such a case? It would never answer to leave
poor Sir Jarvy out there, by himself!"

"We would try not to do _that_!" returned Bluewater, smiling at the
affectionate solicitude of the lad, a solicitude that caused him
slightly to forget his habitual respect for the commander-in-chief, and
to adopt the _sobriquet_ of the fleet. "In such a case, it would become
my duty to collect as many ships as I could, and to make the best of our
way towards the place where we might hope to fall in with the others, in
the morning. There is little danger of losing each other, for any length
of time, in these narrow waters, and I have few apprehensions of the
French being far enough west, to fall in with our leading vessels before
morning. If they _should_, indeed, Geoffrey--"

"Ay, sir, if they _should_, I know well enough what would come to pass!"

"What, boy?--On the supposition that Monsieur de Vervillin _did_ meet
with Sir Gervaise by day-break, what, in your experienced eyes, seem
most likely to be the consequences?"

"Why, sir, Sir Jarvy, would go at 'em, like a dolphin at a flying-fish;
and if he _should_ really happen to catch one or two of 'em, there'll be
no sailing in company with the Plantagenet's, for us Caesar's!--When we
had the last 'bout with Monsieur de Gravelin, they were as saucy as
peacocks, because we didn't close until their fore-yard and
mizzen-top-gallant-mast were gone, although the shift of wind brought us
dead to leeward, and, after all, we had eleven men the most hurt in the
fight. You don't know them Plantagenet's, sir; for they never _dare_ say
any thing before _you_!"

"Not to the discredit of my young Caesars, I'll answer for it. Yet,
you'll remember Sir Gervaise gave us full credit, in his despatches."

"Yes, sir, all very true. Sir Gervaise knows better; and then _he_
understands what the Caesar _is_; and what she _can_ do, and _has_ done.
But it's a very different matter with his youngsters, who fancy because
they carry a red flag at the fore, they are so many Blakes and Howards,
themselves. There's Jack Oldcastle, now; he's always talking of our
reefers as if there was no sea-blood in our veins, and that just because
his own father happened to be a captain--a _commodore_, he says, because
he happened once to have three frigates under his orders."

"Well, that would make a commodore, for th