“Very good, Mr. Stevenson. Now, my lads, I reckon this ship is one of the Dutch fleet sent to clear us whalers out of these seas. Well, as he seems to be alone, I think we have a fair chance of turning the tables upon him. Anyhow, I am going to try. I know some of you are pretty sick, but I am sure that a crew of English sailors, even when they are sick, can lick twice their number of muddle-headed Dutchmen any day.”
In those days, British ships were manned by British seaman, and Captain Foster could talk like this without saying anything offensive to the British merchant service. Nowadays such an observation about “Dutchmen” would be a personal insult to four-fifths of the crew of a British merchant ship.
The men, including the mate, received the speech with a cheer, and one of them sang out “Haul down the Stars and Stripes. We don't want to fight under that.”
To which Captain Foster, who knew what he was about, merely replied, “I am not a fool!”
Towards the close of the afternoon the ships were within gunshot of each other, and the Dutchman ran up his colours. As they drew closer, the foreign skipper's glass showed him the nationality of the Policy and he at once opened fire upon her with one of his six eighteen-pounders.
As the shot hummed overhead between the Policy's fore and main masts, down came the American colours and up went the British ensign, and at the same moment Foster fired such of his guns as bore upon the enemy.
As soon as the report of the guns had died away, Foster sprang into one of his quarter-boats and hailed the other ship.
“Ship ahoy!” he roared “why do you fire at me?”
“Ha, ha! I know you,” came back in mocking tones. “Now vill I sendt you to der tuyvel, you greasy valer mans. I am Captain Portveldt, und dis is der Swift. Vill you surrunder, or vill I smash you to beices?”
For answer, Foster, who had now come very close to his enemy, fired his tiny broadside, his men, sick as they were running cheerfully from the guns to the braces to manoeuvre the Polity clear of the privateer's fire, and then back again to the guns.