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A little boy sculled the boat, and, apparently, had been ignorant of the ship's approach, for he gave a shout of alarm on seeing it, and made frantic efforts to get out of its way. In his wild attempts to turn the boat he missed a stroke and went backwards into the sea. At the same moment the lookout on the ship gave the order to put the helm hard a-starboard in a hurried shout.
"But, with a ten-pound charge, now, they'd make a pretty fair hole in a six-inch plank, I tell ye." "How many of them, Mr Triggs," I asked, "have we got on board?" "Of these long 'uns?" he said, patting one affectionately on the breech as he spoke. "Well, we've jist fifteen here a-port and fifteen a-starboard, which makes thirty in all on this deck. A power o' metal, I tell ye!"
The Wolf, however, did not, in consequence of the accident, slacken her fire, and she and her opponent were gradually sheering closer together, when the latter was seen to put her helm hard a-starboard, so as to lay the Wolf on board. The order was now received from the captain to load the maindeck guns with double shot and the carronades with grape.
The Calliope was the nearest in; she had the Vandalia close on her port side and a little ahead, the Olga close a-starboard, the reef under her heel; and steaming and veering on her cables, the unhappy ship fenced with her three dangers. About a quarter to nine she carried away the Vandalia's quarter gallery with her jib-boom; a moment later, the Olga had near rammed her from the other side.
For some hours he had stood at his post, feeling no apprehension of danger, when towards the end of the middle watch the wind shifted suddenly to the southward, blowing with even greater fury than before. The helm was put a-starboard, and the Ouzel Galley was now running towards the dangerous coast of Cuba.
Then watching for a lull or a smooth time, I told him to put the helm a-starboard and let her come to on the port tack, head to the southward, and at the same time I hoisted the sail.
This was done, of course; and just as the Dawn felt the new influence, the other vessel took the same sheer, and away we both went to starboard, at precisely the same instant. I shouted to right our helm to "hard a-starboard," and it was well I did; a minute more would have brought us down headlong on the Englishman.
Suddenly the chase put down her helm and luffed up on the starboard tack, intending to rake the Wolf, which was now coming up on her weather quarter. "Hard a-starboard!" shouted Captain Moubray, and the Wolf was brought up on the opposite tack, thus avoiding the raking fire, and receiving the enemy's shot on the starboard side. "Well done!" cried the captain. "Now hard a-port!"
"Breakers ahead!" shouted the look-out from forward. "Starboard the helm, hard a-starboard!" cried the commander. The ship came to the wind, and as she did so the white foam was seen rising directly under her lee. The threatened danger was passed, although so narrowly that her keel grated over a rock below it. "Stand ready to let go the best bower!" was the next order heard.
Even as it was, it was touch and go with us; for although the helm was put hard a-starboard at the first sound of the mens' voices, we were so close in that, as the schooner swerved heavily round, we just grazed a great rock, the head of which was sticking out of the water.
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