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Captain Beauport, the commander of the Madeline, immediately hauled his wind and poured in his broadside at close quarters, bringing the enemy's mizenmast, with its large mizen, down on deck. The effect was to make the ship pay off before the wind, and expose her stern to the fire of the Madeline's guns, which had been rapidly reloaded and run out.
Technically speaking, the endangered vessel is not a ship, but a barque, as betokened by the fore-and-aft rig of her mizenmast. Nor is she of large dimensions; only some six or seven hundred tons. But the reader knows this already, or will, after learning her name.
The frigate luffed up into the wind; and, as she did so, her larboard guns were discharged in quick succession into the bows of the Frenchman; but amid the roar of the guns a loud crash was heard, and the mizenmast, unable to bear the additional strain on it, went by the board, but falling to starboard, did not impede the working of the guns.
The miscreants who had boarded the vessel had apparently been all over her in search of anything that might be worth carrying away, and, among other places, they had explored the lazarette, which lay beneath the cabin, a small hatchway just abaft the mizenmast giving access to it.
Suddenly, the simultaneous discharge of three or four of our main-deck guns was followed by a cheer of delight from our lads, and, jumping upon the carriage of one of the quarter-deck guns, I was just in time to see the French ship's mizenmast fall forward, dragging down the main-topgallant-mast with it and passing through the main topsail and mainsail in its fall, splitting them from head to foot.
Her mizenmast is over the side, and she looks as if she might have been afire; but I don't see nobody aboard of her except the chap what's hangin' over the poop rail, and it's him that seems to be tollin' the bell." "All right, boatswain," I replied, "I'll be on deck directly, and take my bath as usual under the head-pump, after which we will have a good look at our neighbour."
The latter vessel was in great confusion from the short notice at which she had sailed, and for the two first days the crew was employed in restoring order. The space abaft the mizenmast contained a dining-room about ten feet broad, and extending the whole width of the ship, a saloon, and two cabins.
Still the officers and crew strove on, though they well knew that no human power could extinguish the raging flames, which with sullen roar came nearer and nearer to where they stood. An alarm was given that the mizenmast was on fire in the captain's cabin, and as Rayner looked over the side, he could see the flames burst out of the lee ports.
"It will be a bad job if they go," he muttered to himself. He then sent Ronald aft to ascertain the condition of the main and mizenmast, which he believed had been struck. His son soon returned with a very bad report. The masts were already badly wounded.
If Greece must perish we thy will obey; But let us perish in the face of day! Oswald gave the helm to two of the seamen, and with his knife cut adrift the axes, which were lashed round the mizenmast in painted canvas covers. One he retained for himself the others he put into the hands of the boatswain and the second mate.
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