e promise
of Bramble that he would stay ashore for some time as soon as he came
back from the river. I remained with her on shore till dusk, and then,
having collected the clean linen, as we were expected to sail early the
next morning, I returned on board the Indiaman.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Showing the Importance, on board Ship, of a Rope's End well
applied.

The next morning, as we expected, the orders came down for the Indiaman
to go round to the river. The wind was fair, but light; we hove up and
made sail, stemming the last of the ebb. When the flood made, the wind
died away, so that we made but little progress, much to the annoyance of
those on board, who were naturally impatient to land after so tedious a
voyage. Toward the evening it fell calm, and a fog-bank rose on the
horizon to the eastward. There were still two hours of daylight, when,
as I was sweeping the horizon with my glass, I discovered the three
masts of a vessel with no sails set on them. As she was a long way off I
went half-way up the main rigging to have a better view of her, and made
her out to be a large lugger. I went down to the poop, where Bramble
stood smoking a cheroot with some of the officers of the ship. "Father,"
says I, "there's a large lugger on our beam, with her sails lowered
down. I caught her masts with the glass just now."

"Then she's a French privateer, you may depend upon it," replied
Bramble, "and she means to try to take us by surprise to-night."

The officers went down and reported it to the captain: the glasses were
fixed upon her, and there was little doubt as to what she was.

"Lucky you discovered her, boy, for we might have been surprised, that's
a fact," said the captain; "however, now she shall catch a Tartar."

"She's waiting for the fog, captain," said Bramble, "which will come
rolling down with the shift of wind in about an hour or two, I expect;
and then we must allow her another hour to get alongside of us. Depend
upon it she has plenty of men, and intends to try to board us in the
fog."

Everybody was now on the _qui vive_; the women were, as usual,
frightened; the men passengers looked grave, the Lascars rather
unsteady; but we had forty English seamen and a hundred invalid soldiers
on board, who could all be depended upon. The guns were loaded and
shotted, and the invalid soldiers were mustered; muskets and ammunition
handed up; the bayonets fixed, unfixed again; and then they wer