helm, my man," to the man at the wheel; "let her go broad off. We
will pass under the Indiaman's stern, and board her from to leeward.
Away aloft there and let fall the topsail, some of you. Mr Lovell, you
will take twenty men--I don't suppose there are above forty Frenchmen
aboard that craft--and board by the main and mizzen chains as we touch.
You will have to be smart about it, as I do not want to remain
alongside, grinding the schooner's side to pieces, a moment longer than
is absolutely necessary. Take the ship; and, as soon as you have
secured possession and driven the prize crew below, haul your wind,
keeping us between you and the lugger. The moment that you and your
party are aboard I shall haul off; and you may leave me to deal with
that fellow to windward. You will make the best of your way to
Weymouth, of course. See that your men freshen the priming of their
pistols at once; and then station them, half by the main rigging, and
half by the fore, ready to jump at the word."

"Ay, ay, sir!" responded Lovell, as he hastened away to select his
twenty men. The topsail was by this time sheeted home, and the men were
mast-heading the yard. The skipper sprang upon the rail, steadying
himself by the weather main swifter, to con our schooner alongside; and
I, in obedience to an order from him, went forward and gave the word for
those who were not of the boarding-party to arm themselves with muskets,
and pick off any of the Frenchmen who might show their heads above the
rail.

It took us less than ten minutes to close with the Indiaman; and as we
ranged up on her lee quarter and swept alongside a party of some ten or
a dozen jabbering and gesticulating Frenchmen jumped up on her poop and
saluted us with an irregular fire of musketry, which, however, did no
harm; and upon our people returning the fire three of the Frenchmen
fell, while the rest tumbled off the poop in such a desperate hurry that
our fellows were fairly convulsed with laughter. The skipper conned us
alongside in such a masterly style that I do not believe the hulls of
the two vessels actually touched at all--at least, I was unconscious of
any shock--yet we were close enough for the two boarding-parties to
spring with ease and certainty from our rigging into the Indiaman's
channels; and the next moment, as they tumbled in over the ship's rail,
our helm was eased up, and the vessels sheered apart, without having
carried away so much as a rope-yar