w the frigate bear up; but
it appeared that we had not quite done with her yet, for as the men
ceased cheering, the skipper very quietly remarked:

"Now it is our turn! That fellow has given us some anxiety; and, now
that we have the opportunity, we will return the compliment. I mean to
teach him that he cannot bully us poor, hard-working privateersmen with
impunity. Take in your topgallant-sail, flying-jib, and gaff-topsail,
Mr Bowen, and then stand by to 'bout ship."

Our men responded to this with a cheer of rapturous delight. We had had
an opportunity to take a good look at the frigate as she wore round, and
we had made her out to be a vessel of thirty-six guns. The audacity of
the idea of the _Dolphin_ actually chasing such a ship exactly suited
the taste of our people; it was a stupendous practical joke to them, and
they entered into it with all the glee and spirit of so many overgrown
school-boys. Sail was quickly shortened, and we then hove about and
steered after the Frenchman.

The first thing to be done was to get the long gun over to windward.
This was soon accomplished; and then Mason went to work once more. His
first and second shots were misses; but the third one plumped slap in
through the frigate's cabin windows. The next shot struck the gig that
was hanging at the frigate's weather quarter, tearing her bottom out;
and the next passed through her main-topsail. After this came four
misses in succession, to the unspeakable disgust of all hands, who
chaffed poor Mason so unmercifully that he almost lost his temper over
it. The skipper thought the opportunity a good one to serve out a glass
of grog to the gun's crew, which had the effect of restoring harmony;
and presently Long Tom began to speak again. The shot struck fair upon
the frigate's stern; and almost instantly she flew up into the wind,
with all the appearance of something having gone wrong with her
steering-gear. She remained head to wind for so long a time that at
length the skipper caused our own helm to be put down and the topsail
laid to the mast lest we should stand on too far and get within range of
her guns. And we were not a moment too soon; for as we rounded-to she
fired the whole of her larboard broadside at us, the shot making the
water spout all round us, and one of them actually striking our hull; it
was, however, so far spent that it did no damage.

Lying almost broadside-on to us, as the frigate now was, she present