ocked
out, screens put up, the magazine opened, powder and shot passed up on
deck, cutlasses and pistols served out to the crew, and, in short, every
preparation made for battle. Our ensign was streaming out in the
breeze, as flat as a board, from the mizen peak, but neither of the
strangers had thus far condescended to show us the colour of their
bunting. They had now definitely parted company, the larger of the two
edging in for the land with the evident intention of reaching a port,
while the other, having hauled her wind, was as evidently preparing to
cover the retreat of her prize by engaging us in a running fight and
drawing us off-shore to the northward.

CHAPTER TWO.

THE PRIVATEER AND HER PRIZE.

The smaller of the two craft, having hauled close to the wind, upon the
same tack as ourselves, and about two miles dead to windward of us, now
hoisted French colours, and fired a gun of defiance, the shot from
which, however, fell a long way short of us. We did not attempt to
reply to this challenge, for although our long 24-pounders would
probably have reached the other ship, the skipper considered the
distance too great for our fire to be effective, while the motion of the
frigate was so violent that the chances were against our being able to
make a hit at all, and Captain Vavassour was noted for the strength of
his objection to the wasteful firing away of ammunition. For the
moment, therefore, he contented himself with testing the respective
speed and weatherliness of the two ships.

We very soon discovered that, so far as these two qualities were
concerned, we had caught a Tartar; for although within the first ten
minutes of the test it became apparent that we were head-reaching upon
the craft to windward, our advantage was so slight that we could
scarcely hope to get within effective range of her in less than two
hours at least, while during the whole of that time the bigger of the
two strangers would be proceeding in the opposite direction at such a
rate as would render her ultimate escape a practical certainty.

The skipper looked long and anxiously, first at one craft, then at the
other, and finally at the barometer; then he rejoined the first
lieutenant, who was giving his attention almost exclusively to the chase
to windward.

"This won't do at all, Mr Adair," he said. "That fellow is going
through the water almost as fast as we are, and is holding as good a
luff. At this rate we shall not