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At this sight Raoul laughed and ordered the mainsail taken in. Half an hour later he directed the foresail to be brailed, brought his jigger-sheet in flat, put his helm hard down, and hauled the jib-sheet to windward. As this last order was executed, day was just breaking over the mountains of Radicofani and Aquapendente.
The Indiaman was before the wind, so was the stranger, but her courses were brailed up, and she was evidently waiting for some purpose or other; she certainly, at present, did not look like an object to be dreaded.
I then squared the yards, hauled in, brailed up and furled the trysail, and next took the reef-tackles, one after the other, to the winch, heaving them as taut as I could get them; after which I jumped aloft, passed the reef earrings, and tied the knittles.
As soon as the enemy could bring their guns to bear, they kept firing away their stern-chasers at us. We stood on, without answering a shot, till we were within a hundred yards of them. `Starboard the helm! cried the captain. The after-sails were brailed up, and the ship falling off, our broadside was brought to bear on the retreating enemy.
Again, Flora struck up her song, and tripping on board the "Saucy Kate," which, with her sails half brailed up, had been left in charge of two boatmen, brought back with her a curious little packet, she soon spread into a table, and, with the assistance of Rose and Nat Bradshaw, had it mounted in a trice with cold iris ribbed beef, boned turkey, chickens, bird pies, jellies, and a basket of delicious fruit; to which was added lemons, and sundry bottles of champagne, and sherry that had been cooled in ice.
Her jib and jigger were both brailed at that instant. A single minute sufficed to teach Winchester how hopeless pursuit would be in the felucca, if not in the boats themselves, should the lugger endeavor to escape in this manner; it being quite practicable for her strong crew to force her through the water by means of her sweeps alone from three to three and a half knots in the hour.
"There is a ship nearly ahead of us, sir; she is lying with her sails brailed up, evidently waiting." "How far is she off, do you think, Ned?" "I should say she is four miles away," Ned replied. "Well, we need not trouble about her for the present; there will be time to think about her when we have finished with these fellows behind. You can come down now, Ned."
Hitherto the ship had been kept in her first position by backing and filling the mizen-topsail, but now she came to, and eventually came round: but Captain Saumarez, whose presence of mind never forsook him, brailed up the mizen, and, by keeping all the square-sails aback, gave the ship a stern-board; at the same time, by keeping the helm up, she wore round on her heel, obtaining a position under the stern and on the starboard quarter, while the enemy was lying with his yards square and totally unmanageable.
The schooner was put under try sails, "a three-reefed mitten with the thumb brailed up," as he heard the boatkeeper call it. This latter was at the wheel for a moment, but in a little while he called up a young man dressed in a suit of oilskins and a pea jacket and gave him the charge.
As he spoke, the English ship brailed up her courses and hove-to, preparing for the combat. This seemed somewhat to cool the courage of the Moors, who looked at each other, for they were accustomed to see the merchant vessels they attacked run from them and do their utmost to escape. The English ship remained stationary.
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