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The manoeuvre was repeated several times, causing the frigate to lose ground; but a fortunate shot would have enabled her quickly to regain it. Though several of the Thisbe's shot took effect, the chase continued her course, firing in return from a gun run out astern; but none of the shot struck her pursuer. At last, however, the chase ran past the battery, which shortly afterwards opened fire.
"Give it them, my lads!" cried the captain, as the helm being put to starboard the whole of the Thisbe's broadside was brought to bear with terrible effect on the enemy. The Frenchman again fired. The Thisbe's guns were quickly run in and reloaded. The breeze at that instant blew aside the smoke, and as it did so the enemy's foremast was seen to fall with a crash overboard.
The Frenchman's fire, however, at length began to slacken, and in little more than a quarter of an hour down came the tricoloured flag, loud cheers bursting from the throats of the Thisbe's crew.
If she were the one they had before seen, she had evidently acted as Captain Martin had supposed might be the case, and having crossed the Thisbe's course, had then kept away, hoping to get in shore of her and back to Cherbourg. At once the Thisbe was put about, and then stood so as to cross the stranger's bows.
Still no one cried for quarter; and though not a gun was discharged, the marines and small-arm men kept up as hot a fire as before. All this time the "Thisbe's" two after-guns on the maindeck kept thundering away at them, fearfully diminishing their numbers. And thus the fight continued: they made, however, no signal of yielding.
Rayner had the satisfaction of seeing Jack rated as an A.B. Several of the Thisbe's crew had joined the Lily, and besides them Ben Twinch, who, owing to Captain Martin's recommendation, had been raised to the rank of warrant officer, was appointed to her as boatswain.
On looking aloft he saw, too, that the masts were wounded in several places, and though the ship was placed in much greater peril by the way she had been knocked about, it was with no little satisfaction that he observed the battering she had received from the "Thisbe's" and "Concorde's" guns. Before long he encountered Mr Calder, whose eyes were engaged as his had been.
The Thisbe's crew returned it with interest, and before the enemy could again fire they delivered a second broadside, which cut away some of her standing and running rigging, and caused other damage. The stranger again fired, but after receiving a few more broadsides, evidently finding that she had no hope of escaping from her active antagonist, she hauled down her colours.
"You are right, Morton," he said when he came on board. "We are bound for Bombay, and if we put our best foot foremost we shall get there as soon as that old tea-chest, the `Osterley." Morton got his parcel from Mrs Edmonstone, and three days afterwards the "Thisbe's" keel was ploughing the waters of the Indian Ocean.
"We had an action yesterday with an English frigate, which made off while we were repairing damages, but truly she so knocked us about that when we were caught by the gale our masts went over the side, and we were driven utterly helpless on this terrible coast." Rayner did not tell the Thisbe's men, who were trying to assist the hapless strangers, that they were their late antagonists.
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