ak in that way."

"I call myself the son of a gentleman, and I'm thinking when I get into
port of writing to my father and asking him to have me placed on the
quarter-deck."

"I wonder you didn't do that before you ran away from home," said Jack.
"They'll have forgotten all about you by this time, and maybe, if you do
manage to write a letter, your father won't believe that it comes from
you."

"Let him alone, Jack," said Bill; "I don't mind what he says about me.
If his father gets him made a midshipman, I shall be as glad as any
one."

"Thank you," said Tom; "I flatter myself I shall know how to strut about
the quarter-deck and order the men here and there as well as the rest of
them."

Just then a voice was heard shouting, "Tom Fletcher, the cook wants you
in the galley. Be smart, now, you've been long enough at breakfast."

Tom, bolting his last piece of biscuit, hurried away, as he had no fancy
for the rope's-ending which would have been bestowed upon him had he
delayed obeying the summons.

The mess-tins were stowed away, and the watch hastened on deck. The
wind by this time had somewhat freshened, and the frigate and her prize
were making better progress than before. The strangers, however, which
had appeared in sight in the morning were considerably nearer. A fourth
was now seen beyond the three which had been made out to the eastward.
The ship to the westward which was considerably farther off than the
others, was evidently a large vessel, and the captain declared his
belief that she was a line-of-battle ship, but whether English or
French, it was impossible to decide. He hoped, as did everybody on
board, that she was English, for should she prove to be French, as
undoubtedly were the vessels to the eastward, the _Thisbe_ would lose
her hard-won prize, even though she might manage to escape herself.
Still, Captain Martin was not a man to give up hope while there was a
chance of escape.

The _Thisbe_, followed by her prize, kept on her course with every
stitch of canvas she could carry set.

"I'm afraid if we don't outrun those fellows there, we shall get boxed
up again by the Frenchmen," observed Jack, pointing to the approaching
ships.

"If we do we must manage to get out somehow or other, as we did before,"
answered Bill; "but even if they do come up with us, that's no reason
why we should be taken. We must try and beat them off, and the captain
and Mr Saltwell are the men to do it. They