way.

"We shall have another long chase, and if that there craft has a fast
pair of heels, she'll get into Cherbourg and make us look foolish," said
Dick Hagger as we watched her.

We stood on, and soon had the satisfaction of discovering that we were
sailing faster than the stranger. The captain and several of the other
officers were examining her through their glasses.

In a short time they formed the opinion that she was no other than the
_Cleopatra_ which had before got away from us, and such we afterwards
found to be the case.

A shout rose from our deck when we observed her haul up her foresail and
lower her topgallant sails, showing that she had made up her mind to
fight us.

In about two hours and a half, we got so near that we heard some one
from her quarter-deck hail us.

Captain Pellew, on this, not making out distinctly what was said,
shouted, "Ahoy! ahoy!" when our crew gave three cheers, and right hearty
ones they were, and shouted, "Long live King George."

As yet, not a shot had been fired, and it might have been supposed that
we were two friendly ships meeting. On hearing our cheer, the French
captain--his name we afterwards heard was Mullon--came on to the
gangway, and waving his hat, exclaimed, "_Vive la Nation_!" on which his
crew tried to give three cheers, as we had done; but it was a very poor
imitation, I can vouch for it.

They had no one to lead them off, and they uttered shrieks rather than
cheers, which, when we gave them, came out with a hearty ringing sound.

We saw the French captain talking to his crew, and waving a cap of
liberty which he held in his hand. He then gave it to one of the men,
who ran up the rigging and screwed it to the masthead.

"We'll soon bring that precious cap of yours down, my boys," cried Dick.

We were all this time at our guns, stripped to the waist, ready and
eager to begin the game; and if the Frenchmen behaved as they seemed
inclined to do, it would be, we felt sure, pretty sharp work.

The French captain now coming to the gangway, waved his hat. Our
captain did the same, and passed the word along the deck that we were
not to fire until we saw him raise his hat to his head.

Eagerly watching for the signal, we stood on, gradually nearing the
French frigate, both of us running before the wind, until our foremost
larboard guns could be brought to bear on the starboard quarter of the
_Cleopatra_.

The captain raised his hat. Almost before it