‘Can you make out her armament?’
‘She’s got five or six caronnades on her deck, sir, but nothing of very heavy calibre that I can make out.’
‘That will do, sir.’
This was equivalent to saying, ‘you may come down, Mr. Herbert,’ and so Jack came down to the quarter-deck.
‘Mr. Herbert, that is St. George’s flag floating from the main of that barque. Shall we show them the flag of the colonies? What think you—would they stare at it?’
‘No doubt of that, sir, being’s he’s never been in these latitudes yet, but where can we get one, sir?’
‘I have looked out for that.’
Thus saying Channing retired to the cabin, but soon returned to the deck with a flag bearing the device of a pine tree.
‘Run that up, and fire a gun, sir.’
‘Ay, ay, sir,’ and up went the humble flag of the North American colonies.