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He guessed that their intention was to get possession of the helm, as he saw some of them squaring away the fore-yards. "If a man advances abaft the mainmast, or touches a brace, we fire!" he cried out. "Knock him over!" cried out a voice, which he recognised as that of the boatswain. "Do as I told you."
During those exciting moments no one thought of what the ship was about; the consequence was that she flew up into the wind, and it became necessary to box her off. All hands were required for this purpose the fore-yards had to be braced round, the after-yards squared away.
Eyes shone, large and haggard, in smiling, meagre faces that seemed to have been dusted over with powdered chalk. We stamped, clapped our hands, feeling ready to jump and do anything; but in reality hardly able to keep on our feet. Captain Allistoun, hard and slim, gesticulated madly from the poop at Mr. Baker: "Steady these fore-yards! Steady them the best you can!"
As soon as it was apparent that the Carnatic was drawing ahead, Captain Greenly was told to lay his main and fore-yards nearly square, to light up all his stay-sail sheets, and to keep away sufficiently to make every thing draw. Although these orders occasioned surprise, they were implicitly obeyed. The moment of meeting had now come.
It was an interesting and exhilarating spectacle to watch these two graceful craft leaping and plunging over the swift-rushing foam- capped emerald surges, spurning them aside with their swelling bows and shivering them into cloud-like showers of snowy spray which they dashed as high as their fore-yards; now rolling heavily to windward as they slid down into a liquid valley, and anon careering to leeward under the influence of wind and wave, as they mounted to the succeeding crest, until their wet gleaming sides and glistening copper flashed in the sun almost down to their garboard strakes.
Accordingly we went about-ship, got our larboard tacks on board, set the top-gallant sails, and crowded for the bay of All Saints, where we came to an anchor early in the morning, just out of gunshot of the forts; we furled our sails with rope-yarns, that we might haul home the sheets without going up to loose them, and, lowering our main and fore-yards, looked just as if we had lain there a good while.
And at length, out of the leaden wrack, there emerged a small schooner, with tall, raking masts, flying straight towards them. "Dear God!" muttered some one, while Ruby dug her finger-tips into Zeb's arm. The schooner raced under bare poles, though a strip or two of canvas streamed out from her fore-yards.
The captain went on to the poop and searched the silent sea with the glass with some fancy of finding a boat within reach of his vision. Nothing was to be seen but the glass-smooth face of the deep, with here and there the light of a large trembling star draining into it. The catspaw had died out, and it mattered nothing whether they braced the fore-yards round or not.
A Spanish three-decker now crossed our bows and gave us a raking broadside which knocked away the fore and main top-masts, the main and fore-yards with the jib-boom and sprit-sail yard, part of the head, and killed and wounded twenty-two of the men. One midshipman was cut literally in half.
Pike, across the poop, leaping with incredible swiftness, sending his snarl before him. "Ease that wheel there! What the hell you gawkin' at? Steady her as I tell you. That's all you got to do!" From for'ard came a cry, and I knew Mr. Mellaire was on top of the for'ard-house and managing the fore-yards. "Now!" from Mr. Pike. "More spokes! Steady! Steady! And be ready to check her!"
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