of much use, as his wooden leg might
chance to stick in a hole and stop his progress. At last they agreed to
refer the matter to the Captain, and to get him to tell off a body of
men for that purpose.

Paul Pringle was selected to be the bearer of the message. Hat in hand,
he stood before his Captain.

"What is it, Pringle?" asked the old man.

"Why, sir, please you, I be come about the business of the ship's child,
sir, Billy True Blue," began Paul. "We hear as how we are to get
alongside an enemy and to take her, and we've been thinking how we are
to get little Billy safe aboard if the _Terrible_, bless her old ribs!
was for to take it into her head to go down; and we thinks as how if he
was to have a bodyguard, whose business was to keep round him and look
after him, seeing as how Sam Smatch can't do that same by himself, that
it would be the best thing for the youngster we can arrange."

Much more to the same effect Paul explained; and the Captain finally
promised that if there was a chance of getting alongside an enemy, he
would appoint some men to the duty.

"And what is more, I will place the party under command of Mr Garland,"
said the Captain. "Billy is such a pet with him, that I am sure he will
do his best to defend him."

"That I know he will, sir!" exclaimed Paul. "That will just do, sir.
None on 'em will fight the worse for knowing how kind you've been to
us--that they won't;" and honest Paul scraped his way out of the cabin.

The enemy, however, showed no inclination to give them the chance they
wished for. Although Admiral Graves kept his fleet sailing up and down
in front of them, they continued to leeward, without any attempt to
approach. The Count de Grasse was more intent on carrying out his
immediate object of effecting the safe debarkation of the troops than in
sustaining the honour of his nation. He was a wise man, for by risking
an action he might have been defeated and lost the attainment of both
objects.

In spite of the battered condition of the _Terrible_, she maintained her
position in the line; but she was only kept afloat by the most strenuous
and unremitting exertions of her brave crew. Another night and day
passed, and each hour the difficulty of keeping her afloat became more
apparent. Her masts and spars, too, were much wounded, and it became a
question how she would be able to weather even a moderate gale. Still
the ship's company worked on cheerfully, in hopes th