any kind, to make no search, but only to bring off what
plate was given them,--that in reality they did exactly as was
ordered; and that not one man offered to stir from his post on the
outside of the house, nor entered the doors, nor said an uncivil word;
that the two officers stayed not one-quarter of an hour in the parlor
and in the butler's pantry while the butler got the plate together,
behaved politely, and asked for nothing but the plate, and instantly
marched their men off in regular order; and that both officers and men
behaved in all respects so well, that it would have done credit to the
best-disciplined troops whatever."

But the British took little notice of the generous reparation made by
Capt. Jones, and continued to hurl abuse and hard names at him.

Jones was vastly disappointed at his failure to capture the person of
Lord Selkirk. The story of the sufferings of his countrymen in British
prisons worked upon his heart, and he longed to take captive a
personage whom he could hold as hostage. But, soon after leaving St.
Mary's Isle, he fell in again with the British man-of-war "Drake;" and
as a result of this encounter he had prisoners enough to exchange for
many hapless Americans languishing in hulks and prisons.

After the wind and tide had defeated the midnight attempt made by
Jones to capture the "Drake," that craft had remained quietly at her
anchorage, little suspecting that the bay of Carrickfergus had held so
dangerous a neighbor. But soon reports of the "Ranger's" depredations
began to reach the ears of the British captain. The news of the
desperate raid upon Whitehaven became known to him. He therefore
determined to leave his snug anchorage, and go in search of the
audacious Yankee. Just as the captain of the "Drake" had reached this
determination, and while he was making sail, the "Ranger" appeared off
the mouth of the harbor.

The "Drake" promptly sent out a boat to examine the strange craft, and
report upon her character. Jones saw her coming, and resolved to throw
her off the scent. Accordingly, by skilful seamanship, he kept the
stern of the "Ranger" continually presented to the prying eyes in the
British boat. Turn which way they might, be as swift in their
manoeuvres as they might, the British scouts could see nothing of the
"Ranger" but her stern, pierced with two cabin windows, as might be
the stern of any merchantman. Her sides, dotted with frowning ports,
were kept securely hidden