The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1900-12-28

"Put back the pOacder," he cried. "NOtd
shot must be fircd."
chap on your larboard bow as II you
meant to speak him. Fool him If you
can. Say Pm you prize. If he sus-
poets you, give him a broadside for his
sharpness. Only keep the wind of him,
and you can do what you like. I'll slip
across his bow and pepper that side
Of him. And if that isn't enough do
what your mother wit suggests, but
mind it must be quickly done what
eve it is or We'll have the other two
beating up to help him.
Now, had l acted on my opinion l
should have steered straight for the
open sea, dead before the fair wind,
in which east l should inevitably have
aroused the suspicious Of all three
ships and so have allowed them to con-
centrate on u course and cut us off.
Alec's plan was obviously the best,
for when they saw l was steering
| plump for the southernmOst n the
others held quietly to their places in
the mouth Of the bay.
When l got within n cables length,
an officer hailed me. l waited as long
as l dared and then answered, but ap-
| parently there was something wrong
with my Spanish, for he replied angrily
that l was drunk and an insOlent
scoundrel for daring so to address him.
At this %juncture one Of my men, a soft
hearted fellow, who knew enough of
the tongue to make out that the don
was using very free language to me, let
fly at him with his gun and sent a
| three ounce ball straight into his
breastplate.
That effectually put an end to our d.
plomacy, SO l gave the order to fire as
each gun bore. l had warned the gun
ners to aim high, and at the third shot
the Spaniard's m%aintopmast broke off
short like a carrot. His m%ainyard, too,
came down by the run, bringing the
sail with It, but as he was still under
command l put up past him, reloading
the guns meanwhile and then hauling
! my wind once more gave him a second
dose over either quarter.
Meanwhile Alec and his men had
been working like furies and tossing
their guns about like child's toys, rain
ing such a shower of broken shot into
his hull from their lesser elevation that
his lower deck must have been almost
%untenable.
The Spaniard had been unprepared
for our attack and took some time to
beat his men to quarters, but they
served their guns well and fast when
they did get to them. and the shot soon
came flying about our ears like hail
stones. His running rigging, however,
was pretty well cut to pieces, and as
we had half n dozen good bowmen sta
toned ready who e n a clothyard
shaft through the ribs of every man
who set a foot on his ratlines he lay
pretty helplessly head to wind. with his
remaining sails In the most thorough
confusion. Had we been able to play
the game out at long bowls we could
either have sunk him or reduced the
low us to carry him by boarding, but
the other two Spanish ships were beat
ing up to us, and on her next tack the
nearest would be within gunshot.
Alec therefore gave the word to I'll
away west by south. before the wind,
through the southern entrance of tn"
bay. The order did not come a minute
too soon, though the majority of US
were SO worked up by the excitement
Of the fight that we would never have
noticed that It was high time for US to
quit.
We held on this course for about two
hours, and then, as the sky had fortu-
nately clouded over. we hauled Our
wind and stood due south to give our
pursuers a chance Of passing us In the
darkness. They would never expect us
to u south, so when they missed us
AT daylight they would naturally look
for us to the northward If they contin'
ued the cLasr That was our theory
What thry a|n,ea.l, did | cannot say.
for we nryr 10y them again.
. We heid Vu luis strategic course for .