“Tom, have you the bearings?” said Bramble; “if not, take them at once, for the fog will soon be over the land.”
“I have them,” replied I, “and we may as well put them down on the log-board:— North Foreland Light Nor’-Nor’-West and a quarter West. Why, we should see the Tongue buoy. Now we’ll drop the anchor and furl the sails, if you please, sir—we can do nothing at present.” We did so: the fog came on thicker than before, and with it a drizzling rain and wind from the S. At dusk there was no change, or prospect of it. The men went down to supper, and the watch was set. Bramble and I did not turn in: we lay down on the lockers of the cabin, and every now and then went on deck to see how the weather was. About eleven o’clock we were awakened by a noise: we both started up, and went on deck. To our surprise it was full of men—we had been boarded by a French privateer, and they had gained possession of the deck without any alarm being given, for the men who had the watch had sheltered themselves from the rain down the hatchway. As soon as we came up, we were collared and seized.
“Pilot,” said Bramble.
“Pilot,” said I.
They then asked us in English how many men were on board.
As it was no use concealing the fact, we replied: a portion of the privateer’s men then went down, and surprised them all in their beds. In about five minutes they came up again, leading the lieutenant and his men, in their shirts. By the directions of the French captain they were immediately passed over the side into the privateer, and Bramble and I were the only two Englishmen left on board of the ship.
The French captain then asked us if we knew where we were, and whether there was any danger. We replied that we were among the sands, and that it would be difficult to get her out of them with that wind, and impossible until the tide turned.
“When will the tide turn?” said the captain.
“In an hour or less,” replied Bramble, appealing to me. I replied in the affirmative.
“Well, then, you will take this vessel clear of the shoals, my men; and if you do not, your lives are worth nothing:— hold pistols to their heads,” continued he to the officer, “and the moment that the ship touches, blow their brains out.”