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fought the pirate.
/survived the explosoin.
. gleese zay take de mans from all sheeps!
32 “ARMY AND NAVY WEEKLY.
But the Solway’s captain was a rugged British tar, |
and the fight he made was worthy of Hawke or -Dun-
can.. With blood running from his scuppers, half his
guns dismounted, and his ship a wreck, he still kept
the red cross at his mizzen and doggedly struggled
against certain defeat. — : .
Against the ship on his weather bow he could bring
only one twenty-four pounder to bear, and against her
consort on his quarter, not a single gun; yet ‘‘the me-
teor flag of England’? he could not yet endure to strike.
In the mizzen top, where our youngsters were sta-
tioned, every person save themselves had been killed...
Tho bead of the mast was splintered, and the top it-
. self so torn tliat the foothold was unsubstantial,
The boys had at first fired their muskets like the
others, always, however, taking care to aim wide from
the enemy; but now, when left alono, they laid down
their guns and watched the battle. «
“] thought,’? said Tom Dean, ‘‘a Frenchman was no
fighter on water; but I guess: the fellows will be
enough for us!’’
“T guess they will, too,’ said Bob.. ‘‘If they'll only
take us I shall be glad, for then we'll tell them bow it
is, and they’ll let us go. It seems to me that I am_al-
most willing to be killed for the sake of seeing these
Englishmen get such a drubbing!’ _ - .
- **T don’t believe,’’ said Tom, ‘‘we shall see anything
a great while! How the shot whistle! ‘There goes the
mizzen stay! But what I’m surprised at is that we
don’t feel more afraid !”’
“¢Q,’? said Bob, ‘‘a person isn’t much afraid in bat-
tle; it is when he thinks of it afterward that it looks
dangerous to, him. You know how it was when. we
Hello!. Look out for yourself!
Hold ont’?
A twenty-four pound ball had struck the mast, and
the top swayed with an inclination like the deck of a
, Ship in a storm,
Our boys clutched the topmast shrouds, but felt them-
selves going, and in a few moments they were in: the
water. The mizenmast had gone by the board!
The lads were both excellent swimimers, and they
struck out for the nearest ship of the enemy. As they
reached her side a tremendpus explosion behind them
seemed to shake sea aud sky. Looking around they saw
the whole air ablaze, but nothing of the Solway!
Where she had been, the water was whirling and foam-
ing as if a whole magazine of powder had been dis-
charged beneath it; and then there was a rain of
timbers and spars and guns. The British seventy-four
had, blown up. “ :
Our heroes scrambled up the side of the French-
man, assisted by those on board, and search was then
made for such of the Solway’s crew as might have
Only seven, however, were
found, but to their great satisfaction the boys per-
ceived one of these to be Tom Byrne, the Irishman.
‘<Be jabers, I’ve had a ride on a broom, like an owld
-witch!’? he said; ‘*but the corporal he didn’t come
-down yet!’?
The French commander, Monsieur Le Brune, who
could master a little broken English, questioned the
survivors as-to the name of their ship, the destinatoin
of her convoy, and other particulars; and-Tom and
Bob hastened to tell him their -story. ‘
h, oui, oui! zat ees de vay,’’ he said. ‘‘Zese In-
Vat say you
go vid me—be leetle. Frenchmanus—serve ze emperor,
ze grand Napoleon???’ :
» Our boys were not backward in expressing their ad-
miration of the great emperor; but they explained to
Captain Le Brune the difficulties under which an enlist-
ment in the French navy would place them, in view of
their attachment to home and country, and he avi-
dently respected their feelings. :
A like proposition was made to the other seven, and
two of them accepted it; but Tom Byrne and.four of
his companious chose captivity instead.
‘*No,’? said Tom, ‘I’m an Irishman, and an_English-
man to meis Sathan’sown pisen; but it’s not Tom Byrne
that'll be goin’ back on his agraymint! I enlishted be-
cause it was enlisht or shtarve, an’ shinall the love I
had for thim! But a man’s wor-ud is his wor-ud, and
I’m a British marane till me time’s out !”? ,
The French ships were so greatly crippled that they
made no attempt to overtake the convoy, which had
all the while been standing off to the northward.
They continued under easy sail, repairing damages,
and next day a ship was discovered coming up the sea
before a moderate breeze carrying all her high kites
and all her studding sails on both sides.
The Gallic commander wanted to cross her hawse;
but lest, if she were English, she might take alarm and
avoid him, he kept his two ships on their course, stand-
ing off from ber but making little headway.
As. topsails, courses, and hull successively rose to
view, our two lads gazed upon the approaching stranger
with more and more interest. :
‘©Yes,’? said Bob, ‘‘that’s the Ganges, I’ll bet any.
thing! The old man is carrying all the high flyers,
-ain’t he?’’
‘I?m afraid it isn’t she, after all,’? said Tom Dean;
‘tbut it does look like ber, sure enough.’’
As she came nearer, there remained in the boys’
“minds no further doubt of her identity; and, going
aft, hat in hand, to Captain Le Bruue, they told him
of their desire to be returned to ber. .
“OQ, yes,’? be said; ‘‘I vill give him ze hail; but I
vas hope you like ze French sairveece. You make one
two grand sailor!”’ : . . ‘
The captain of the Ganges, evidently seeing that the
vessels ahead of him were ships of war, sent up his
flag at the fore as he approached; ard, the courtesy
was instantly acknowledged on board the two frigates,
each of which unrolled the imperial ‘ensign from her
mizzen. :
_ Captain Le Brune, hailing the American, informed
the commander of the Ganges of what had _ transpired,
and the desire of ‘‘ze two boys’’ to get once more on
board the vessel to which they belonged. The Canton
ship, therefore, taking in her studding sails, came up
in the wind, having first run some little distance past
the Frenchmen; and great was the joy of our little.
heroes when they again stepped on her deck.
The French commander then bid Captain Tillinghast
-a graceful adieu, and: the vessels parted company, the
Granges outsailing the frigates. ‘'hat night our little
adventurers were lions in the forecastle, and warm
were their praises of the polite Frenchman who com-
manded the La Vendee. :
—-— 3
CHAPTER XI.
THE WRECK.
It was not in the nature of the boys to hold malice,
and with the joy of their escape all animosity toward
the English was forgotten. They commiserated the
fate of the British captain and bis crew, and told the
sailors of the Ganges witn what‘ heroic courage the
blood red cross had been sustained at the peak of the’
seventy-four. Still, though the courage of Albion's
tars drew from their young hearts an admiration as
‘solid as that which inspired it, a more glowing and
soul-felt enthusiasm was awakened by their remem-
brance of the French, their deliverers; that courteous
and gallant people who would never forget the _polite-
ness due to an enemy even while cutting off their
heads! - ,
These sentiments were heartily responded to by the
old tars, every one of whom entertained a liking for the
French.
Never had the boys seen the Ganges in more ship-
shape condition than’ how; not even when, all ready
for setting sail, she had Jain at anchor in Providence
River, on the day when Jack Bruce threw away his
silver.dollar. Newly painted at Mauritius, she glit-
tered fore and aft, and the row of false ports a ong
her_ side was bright as a contrast of white and blac
could make it. : .
' It was now the middle of fall, and the southwest
monsoon had given way to variable winds; but Cap:
‘tain Tillinghast felt in hopes of reaching Canton be-.
fore the final setting in of the six months’ blow from
the northeast, so tedious to those bound up the China
ea.
For some days the weather was favorable; but at
length the sky grew wild, and there set in a tremen-.
dous sea; so that although the breeze was not_ strong,
the, captain, apprehending a typhoon, sent down his
topgallant masts—an operation which sailors of the
present day would hardly kuow how to perform, but
to which those of the old school were accustomed, 43
» there were then no professional riggers on shore, and
every seaman was required to know how to take his
ship all to pieces aloft, and how to put her together
again, Now, a topgallant mast may blow away if it
will, for nobody knows how to get it down!