straight
before the wind and with the American flag proudly flying. The officers
and men of the frigate were so upset by the sudden dash and attack that
they did not know what to do. Before they came to their senses the brig
was out of reach of their shot. Off like a bird she went, now quite
outsailing her pursuer. The _Solebay_, fired more than a hundred iron
balls after her, but they only scared the fishes.

It was not long before Captain Jones found another big British ship on
his track. He was now off the coast of Nova Scotia, and as there was
nothing else to do, he let his men have a day's sport in fishing for
codfish. Fish are plenty in those waters, and they were pulling them up
in a lively fashion when a strange sail rose in sight.

When it came well up Captain Jones saw it was a British frigate, and
judged it time to pull in his fishing lines and set sail on his little
craft. Away like a deer went the brig, and after her like a hound came
the ship. But it soon proved that the deer was faster than the hound,
and so Captain Jones began to play with the big frigate. He took in some
of his sails and kept just out of reach.

The _Milford_, which was the name of the British ship, kept firing at
the _Providence_, but all her shot plunged into the waves. It was like
the hound barking at the deer. And every time the _Milford_ sent a
broadside, Paul Jones replied with a musket. After he had all the fun he
wanted out of the lumbering frigate, he spread all sail again and soon
left her out of sight.

We cannot tell the whole story of the cruise of the _Providence_. In
less than two months it captured sixteen vessels and burned some others.
Soon after that Jones was made captain of the _Alfred_, the ship on
which he had raised the first flag. With this he took a splendid prize,
the brig _Mellish_, on which were ten thousand uniforms for the British
soldiers. Many a ragged soldier in Washington's army thanked him that
winter for a fine suit of warm clothing.

Let us tell one more fine thing that Captain Jones did in American
waters before he crossed the ocean to the British seas. Sailing along
the coast of Canada he came upon a fleet of coal vessels, with a British
frigate to take care of them. But it was foggy and the coalers were
scattered; so that Jones picked up three of them while the frigate went
on with her eyes shut, not knowing that anything was wrong.

Two days afterward he came upon a British privateer, whic