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Updated: May 24, 2025
Past main and foremasts I crept, past dark store-rooms and cubby-holes, and so to a crack of light, and clapping my eye thereto, espied two fellows rolling dice and beyond them the boy, his hands lashed miserably to a staple in the bulkhead, his little body writhing under the cruel blows of a rope's-end wielded by a great, red-headed fellow.
Diggle had quietly strolled down to the gun next to Bulger's. It had just been reloaded. He bade the gun captain, in a low tone, to move aside. Then, with a glance to see that the priming was in order, he took careful sight, and waiting until the grab's main, mizzen and foremasts opened to view altogether, he applied the match.
It was evening; the two frigates lay within a few hundred fathoms of each other: the "Thisbe," from having her foremasts standing, had a far wider range of vision than her prize. "The `Thisbe' is signalling us, sir," said Morton to Mr Calder. "Get the signal-book, and see what she is saying," was the answer. The meaning of the signals was soon ascertained.
Previous to this, Champlain and all the French who were on board had been sent below deck, the covers of which had been fastened with large nails, so that they were unable to render any assistance to Emery de Caën, even if they had desired to. The battle continued under some difficulties, and the vessels were grappled only by their foremasts.
But as they reached the Penon and felt the full vigour of that warm breeze, Sakr-el-Bahr, who by Asad's command remained in charge of the navigation, ordered the unfurling of the enormous lateen sails on main and foremasts. They ballooned out, swelling to the wind, and the galeasse surged forward at a speed that was more than doubled.
At last as I lay there, for minutes which seemed to be hours, I heard my enemy talking loudly, and I knew that he must be speaking to the men in the forecastle. That would do. He could see nothing now, for between us there were the main and foremasts, and plenty besides the galley and water-cask, and the long cabin-like range upon the top of which our boat had lain in the chocks.
It spurred Asad. He advanced slowly along the vessel's waist-deck to the mainmast for she was rigged with main and foremasts. There he halted again to look into the face of Sakr-el-Bahr who stepped along beside him. "Why didst thou laugh?" he questioned shortly. "Why? At the folly of such a proposal," said Sakr-el-Bahr in haste, too much in haste to seek a diplomatic answer.
"If it were not for that diabolical netting," thought I, "there would be some chance for us still." And as we ranged laboriously up alongside, my eye travelled up the face of the obstruction to its upper edge, and I saw that it was suspended at four points only, two on the port and two on the starboard side, in the wake of the main and foremasts.
His heart is touched, and he answered by the welcome word "Yes," and then I go down the line of frigates, all hotly engaged, especially the Iphigenie. Every minute or two I saw splinters of wood flying into the air, cut out by the shot striking her. She had a hundred and eight in her hull, without counting her spars. There were eight in her foremasts alone.
One thing was certain; light as our draught of water was, and small as was the schooner's area of lateral resistance compared with that of the barque, we were slowly but certainly eating our way out upon her weather quarter, her main and foremasts having been visible to leeward of her mizenmast when the chase commenced, while now they just showed clear of each other to windward, thus conclusively demonstrating that we were gaining the weather-gauge of her, despite the heavy sea.
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