ree hindermost boats came up to the relief
of that which was disabled, and took the men out of her. We again
called to parley with them; but, instead of an answer, one of the boats
came close under our stern; whereupon our gunner let fly his two chase
guns, but missing, the men in the boat shouted, and, waving their caps,
came on with greater fury. To repair this seeming disgrace, the gunner
soon got ready, and firing a second time, did a great deal of mischief
among the enemy. We waved again, and, bringing our quarter to bear upon
them, fired three guns more, when we found the boat a sinking, and
several men already in the sea; hereupon, manning our pinnace, I gave
orders to save as many as they could, and instantly to come on board,
because the rest of their boats were approaching: accordingly they did
so, and took up three of them, one of whom was almost past recovery; and
then crowding all the sail we could, after our men came on board, we
stood out farther to sea, so that the other three boats gave over the
chase, when they came up to the first two. Thus delivered from imminent
danger, we changed our course to the eastward, quite out of the course
of all European ships.

Being now at sea, and inquiring more particularly of the two seamen, the
meaning of all this, the Dutchman at once let us into the secret. He
told us, that the fellow who sold us the ship was an errant thief, who
had run away with her; that the Captain was treacherously murdered on
the coast of Molucca by the natives there, with three of his men; that
he, the Dutchman, and four more, being obliged to have recourse to the
woods for their safety, at length escaped by means of a Dutch ship in
its way to China, which had sent their boat on shore for fresh water:
That, after this, he went to Batavia, where two of the seamen belonging
to the ship (who had deserted the rest in their travels) arrived, and
there gave an account that the fellow who ran away with the ship had
sold her at Bengal to a set of pirates, who went a cruising, and had
already taken one English and two Dutch ship, richly laden.

Now, tho' this was absolutely false, my partner truly said, that our
deliverance was to be esteemed so much the more, by reason, had we
fallen into their hands, we could have expected nothing from them but
immediate death, considering our accusers would have been our judges;
and, therefore, his opinion was to return directly to Bengal, where,
being known, we