onent, we could not feel that we were getting the best of the fight.

"Do you think we shall take her?" said I to Peter, during another short
cessation of firing.

"I scarcely expect that," he answered. "But I am pretty certain that he
won't take us. See, hurrah! He's been hit again pretty hard!"

As he spoke, the frigate's mizzen-mast, which must have been before
badly wounded, went by the board, and at the same time her main-yard
came down by the run on deck, no doubt doing further damage by the fall.

To show the enemy that our spirits were as high as ever, we cheered
again; but, as if in retaliation, several shots, in quick succession,
struck our foretopmast, and it, and the yard, and all our headsail, came
thundering down on deck, in a confused mass of wreck, disabling several
of our people, and rendering our foremost gun useless for a time. I was
thankful that I had been stationed at a gun instead of being aloft.
Some of the officers hurried forward to get the wreck cleared away,
while others encouraged the men to persevere in the strife--not that any
encouragement was necessary, for we were all eager to continue it, still
hoping to make prize of our antagonist.

What had become of the schooner meantime we could not tell. We could
only suppose that she was an unarmed vessel. Had she been armed, she
might have proved a very disagreeable addition to the force with which
we had to contend.

While we were clearing the wreck of the foretopmast, another broadside
was poured into us, which we returned with our after-guns. It appeared
to me, as I looked up again at her after loading, that the frigate was
increasing her distance from us. There could be no mistake about it.
Her helm had been put up, and she was running off before the wind.
Didn't we cheer heartily! but then we remembered that, deprived of our
headsail, we could not follow--so we cheered again, and sent a few shots
flying after her, like a dog's farewell bark, just to show her that we
claimed the victory, and would be ready for her if she chose to come
back; and then we set to work with a will to repair damages.

Our couple of hours' night work had produced not a few, and sadly
changed the appearance of our trim little sloop. Still, as our foremast
was standing, we were able to make headsail on the ship, and we hoped by
the following morning to get matters sufficiently to rights to be able
to renew the engagement should our opponent again vent