Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 8, 2025
By nightfall we were running before a lusty south-east breeze, the cutter keeping about half a mile to windward of us, and taking in her gaff topsail, when it became dark, otherwise she would have run ahead of, and lost us before morning. At daylight, when I went on deck, she was within a cable's length, Yorke was steering smoking as usual and no one else was visible on deck.
On the south, a hundred ships were in the deep roadstead, a cable's length from each other their hulls, spars, and rigging magnified to gigantic proportions under the deceptive and tremulous moonbeam. They were motionless as if the sea had been frozen around them into a solid crystal. Their flags drooped listlessly down, trailing along the masts, or warped and twined around the halyards.
The surf, at the particular spot we steered for, did not break on the shore in a rolling curling wave, as it usually does, but smoothed away under the lee of a small sandy promontory that ran out into the sea, about half a cable's length to windward, and then slid up the smooth white sand without breaking, in a deep clear green swell, for the space of twenty yards, gradually shoaling, the colour becoming lighter and lighter until it frothed away in a shallow white fringe, that buzzed as it receded back into the deep green sea, until it was again propelled forward by the succeeding billow.
"Steady; so that's right for the stern of the leeward vessel." We were within two cable lengths of the privateers, who still remained hove-to within half a cable's length of each other. They were very large schooners, full of men, with their boarding netting triced up, and showing a very good set of teeth: as it afterwards proved, one mounted sixteen, and the other two fourteen, guns.
"And the dog looked up and gave one deep bark, and as soon as he had barked the wind appeared to lull he barked again twice, and there was a dead calm he barked again thrice, and the seas went down and he patted the dog on the head, and the animal then bayed loud for a minute or two, and then, to the astonishment and fear of all, instead of the vessel being within a cable's length of the Texel sands in a heavy gale, and without hope, the Foreland lights were but two miles on our beam with a clear sky and smooth water."
In a few minutes more the remainder were too far distant for the carronades, and, as they did not fire, Jack turned his attention to take possession of his prize, sending a boat with ten men on board, and heaving-to close to her to take her in tow. Ten minutes more and the frigate was hove-to a cable's length from the Rebiera, and our hero lowered down his other quarter boat to go on board.
"We shall soon see," replied Cousin Benedict, who, after all, would give all the mammifers of the Arctic or Antarctic seas for an insect of a rare species. "Steer, Bolton, steer!" cried Captain Hull again, "and do not board the wreck. Keep a cable's length. If we cannot do much harm to this hull, it might cause us some damage, and I do not care to hurt the sides of the 'Pilgrim' with it.
After engaging her for two hours, they had got up to within half a cable's length of her, when, trimming their sails as well as they were able, they ranged up alongside with double-shotted guns and gave her a broadside. Having shot ahead, they were going about to repeat their fire, when they discovered to leeward a large ship under French colours.
We could see that the land wind was blowing strong in shore, from the darker colour of the water, and the speed with which the coasters, only distinguishable by their white sails, slid along; while astern of us, out at sea, yet within a cable's length, for we had scarcely shot beyond its influence, the prevailing trade wind blew a smart breeze, coming up strong to a defined line, beyond which and between it and the influence of the land wind, there was a belt of dull lead coloured sea, about half a mile broad, with a long heavy ground swell rolling, but smooth as glass, and without even a ripple on the surface, in the midst of which we presently lay dead becalmed.
View of Gibraltar from the Bay. The sails were gradually got off the brig, and she had but little way on when her anchor was dropped, a cable's length from the end of the Mole. Scarcely had she brought up when a boat shot out from the end of the pier. "Hooray!" Bob shouted. "There are my sister, and Gerald." "I thought as much," the captain said.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking