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But they had no sooner clapped their helm a-weather for this purpose than they saw a sail standing towards them, which proved to be a Spanish man of war, which caught them, and spoilt their India voyage.
We was close reefed and laying to with the foresail a-weather, lookin' out anxiously, for, the fleet bein' all round and the snow thick, our chances o' runnin' foul o' suthin' was considerable. When we took in the last reef we could hardly stand to do it, the wind was so strong an' wasn't it freezin', too! Sharp enough a'most to freeze the nose off your face.
Don't I see the blue flames come out of your hawse holes? mayhap you may be the devil himself, for aught I know but I trust in the Lord, d'ye see I never disrated a kinsman, d'ye see, so don't come alongside of me put about on th'other tack, d'ye see you need not clap hard a-weather, for you'll soon get to hell again with a flowing sail."
Having arrived at this conclusion, I forthwith proceeded to carry out my plan, and found it to act fairly well; the only drawback being, that, for want of watching, the felucca evinced a tendency to run a little off the wind, while, when I attempted to remedy this by lashing the helm an inch or two less a-weather, she erred to about the same extent in the other direction by gradually coming-to until her sail was all shaking, and I had to jump hurriedly to my feet and jam the helm hard up to prevent her from coming round upon the other tack.
We were Eight Days without seeing a Sail, but the Ninth, about Break of day the Man at the Top-mast Head, descried one on our Leeward Bow. The Pyrates immediately prepared for an Engagement; we clapp'd our Helm a-weather, eas'd out our Main-sheet, and gave Chase.
"How does she carry her helm, Matthew?" inquired Oswald, walking aft. "Spoke a-weather." "I'll have the trysail off her, at any rate," continued the mate. "Aft, there my lads! and lower down the trysail. Keep the sheet fast till it's down, or the flogging will frighten the lady-passenger out of her wits. Well, if ever I own a craft, I'll have no women on board. Dollars shan't tempt me."
Lot o' blokes come round preachin' and prayin'." "What? To our blank chaps? How is it I've never seen his blank flag afore?" "Ain't been werry long started. I heerd about 'em at Gorleston. Fat Dan got converted board o' one on 'em." Just then the smart smack shoved her foresail a-weather and hove-to; then a small boat put out, and a stout grizzled man hailed Jim. "What cheer, old lad, what cheer?
The helm of the Coquette was now placed hard a-weather, the yards were squared, and the ship was put be fore the wind. After running, in this direction for a few hours, the wind gradually lessening, the lead announced that the keel was quite as near the bottom as the time of the tide, and the dull heaving and setting of the element, rendered at all prudent.
She of course shot into the wind's eye in an instant, and in another minute the craft would have been on the rocks, stern-foremost, and beating her bottom in, had not Courtenay who happened to be standing close by sprung to the tiller and jammed it hard a-weather, thus causing her to pay off and forge ahead before losing steerage-way altogether.
"The ship," said he, "was a Dutch vessel, bound from Batavia to Callao, that had probably gone on her beam ends, for she was full of water. Her crew had abandoned her; I think they underrated the buoyancy of the ship and cargo. They left the poor dog on board. Her helm was lashed a-weather a couple of turns, but why that was done I cannot tell for the life of me.
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