“Ay, lad, there’s no mistaking her build and rigging. She hails from England, or I’m a Dutchman, and so heavily loaded with whatsoever may be the cargo that we’ll find in her a prize worth taking.”
“Providing her captain isn’t in a condition to object,” I replied, with a smile, whereat the man said, cheerily, as if he found in the fact no little pleasure:
“She’s armed, lad, so I’ve heard the officers say, an’ shows six ports on a side, therefore it stands to reason she carries no less than twelve guns.”
“And probably can put up as severe a fight as did the Nickerson,” Simon added, grimly.
“Well, I am allowin’ we need exercise of that kind, lad. What with omens, an’ ghosts, an’ near to downright mutiny, this ’ere crew is gettin’ so rusty that a little blood-lettin’ will work to their advantage. I hold to it a privateersman gets into a bad condition if he ain’t knocked around just about so much, an’ our prizes thus far have come too easy. If we could suddenly find ourselves within range of a British sloop-of-war it would do us a world of good.”
“I’m thinkin’ you’d change your song if anything like that should happen,” Simon said, with a laugh, whereat the sailor, who was an exceeding sensible man, gave us a long lecture upon the necessity of running a privateersman into serious danger now and then for the sake of holding him in proper discipline.
Well, it was destined that we should not receive any very painful lesson on this day, despite the fact that the stranger was reasonably well armed.
Before two hours had passed we threw a shot across the Britisher’s bow, and sent another into her mizzen rigging which did no little damage.
Then her captain showed that he must have had more milk than blood in his veins, for without discharging a single piece,—and we were now come so near as to see that she did indeed carry twelve guns,—he hove to quietly as any lamb.
Some of our people fancied there was a trick in all this; that when we came to board her we would find ourselves in hot water; but Captain Ropes was not the man to take any chances of this kind.