"I suppose we can do nothing with that broken yard, boatswain?"
"No, sir; and it don't matter much, going pretty nearly before the wind, as we are. The sails on the foremast draw all the better, so it don't make much difference.
"Look out, below!" he shouted, as there was a crash above; and the mizzenmast was cut in sunder, by a shot that struck it just above the topsail blocks; and the upper part came toppling down, striking the bulwark and falling overboard.
"Lay aft, lads, and out knives!" the boatswain shouted. "Cut away the wreck!
"It is lucky it wasn't two feet lower," he said to Bob, "or it would have brought the topsail down; and that would have been a serious loss, now the main-topsail is of no use."
He sprang to assist the men, when a round shot struck him, and almost carried off his head. Bob caught at the knife that fell from his hand, and set to work with the men.
"That is it, lads, cut away!" he shouted. "We sha'n't have many more of them on board. We are a good mile away, now."
Just as the work of getting rid of the wreck was accomplished, one of the men said, as a rocket burst overhead:
"There are two of their gunboats coming out of the harbour, sir."
"We had better close with the others, then," Bob said. "The brig will engage them, when they come up. We shall be well beyond reach of the batteries, before they do.