d-arms bedizened with banner and pennons streaming in
the breeze, and her painted sails bellying and straining at yard and
stay with the warm breathing of the trade-wind. She was still some two
miles distant, and it would be at least ten minutes before she arrived
within gun-shot.

"Pilot," said George, turning to Dyer, after he had eyed the stranger
carefully, "let the mariners clew up and furl our topgallants. I
believe we can do without them, by the look of yonder ship, which seems
to be not nearly so fast as ourselves, and there will be the less tackle
for the men to handle when it comes to manoeuvring, and consequently the
more men free to fight."

The order was given; the men sprang to the topgallant halliards and
sheets, cast them off, manned the clewlines and buntlines, and clewed up
the topgallants. Then a dozen of them--six forward and six aft--leapt
into the rigging, clambered it with the alacrity of squirrels, neatly
furled the sails, and were on their way down again from aloft when the
first gun from the Spaniard boomed out across the still waters of the
channel, to be echoed a little later by the distant hills. The shot
flew wide, striking the water nearly a hundred fathoms away on the
_Nonsuch's_ lee bow.

"_Now_," cried George, turning to a man who had for some time been
standing by the ensign staff, "you may hoist away and let the Dons see
with whom they are about to fight." And in obedience to his command the
glorious Red Cross on its white field floated out over the taffrail and
went soaring majestically to the head of the staff, to be greeted with
cheer after cheer by the crew.

The _Nonsuch_ was now on the starboard tack, heading to the northward,
and it looked as though the Spaniard meditated crossing her stern and
raking her at close quarters as she crossed. To counter this manoeuvre,
therefore, Dyer gave the order "Ready about!" and as the sail-trimmers
sprang to their stations, George shouted an order to the gunners of the
starboard battery to be ready to fire at the word of command. The men
accordingly blew their smouldering matches vigorously, again looked to
the priming of their ordnance, and held themselves ready to discharge at
the word. Up swept the _Nonsuch_ into the wind, with all her sails
ashiver in the brisk breeze, and, watching carefully, George gave the
order to fire at the exact moment when the Spanish ship was square
abeam. The Spaniard discharged her broadside at th