nd anxious, and they all turned to look at me as if
I could help them.

"Carre," said the captain, as I climbed the ladder, "look there! Is that
the ---- villain?" and pointed over the starboard quarter.

One look was enough for me. I had stared hard enough at that long black
hull three days before, while it thrashed us to death with its whirling
devilries. And there was no mistaking the splash of red on his foretopsail.

"It's him, captain;" and the ladies wrung their hands, while the men looked
deadly grim, and the captain took a black turn along the deck and came back
and stood in front of them.

"It's not in an Englishman's heart to give in without a fight," he said
gruffly, "and I'm not in the habit of asking any man's advice about my own
business, but from what this man says that ---- villain over yonder can
flay us to pieces at his pleasure and we can't touch him;" and he looked at
me.

"That is so," I said.

"If we let him have his way the chances are he'll take all he wants and go.
If we fight--My God, how can we fight? We can't reach him. What would _you_
do now? You've been through it once with him," he turned suddenly on me.

"I'd give five years of my life to have a grip of his throat--"

"And how'd you get there under these conditions, my man?"

"You can't do a thing, captain. And anything you try will only make it
worse. He'll send you one of his damnable cart-wheels aboard and you'll see
the effect. You know how far your carronades will carry."

"Get you below, all of you," he said to his white-faced passengers. "No
need to get yourselves killed. He'll probably go for our spars, but when
shots are flying you can't tell what'll happen. Stop you with me!" he said
to me, and the poop cleared quickly of all outsiders.

The schooner came on like a racehorse. While yet a great way off a puff of
smoke balled out on his fore-deck and disappeared before the report reached
us.

"That's blank to tell us to stop. I must have more to justify me than
that," said the captain, and held on.

Another belch of white smoke on the schooner, and in a minute our foremast
was sliced through at the cap, and the foretopmast, with its great square
sails, and their hamper, was banging on the deck, while the jibs and
staysail fell into the sea to leeward, and the big ship fell off her course
and nosed round towards the wind.

"---- him! That's dismantling shot and no mistake about it. There's nothing
else for it. Hau