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Updated: June 17, 2025
When we were round, and full upon the other tack, she was still quite three miles distant, and bore about a point on our lee-bow; but of course she very soon drew out athwart our hawse, and now everything seemed to depend upon which was the more weatherly craft of the two.
The captain knew his vessel, however, and did not let her lose her way, making everything draw again as it might be by instinct. The proas tacked, too, and, laying up much nearer to the wind than we did, appeared as if about to close on our lee-bow. The question was, now, whether we could pass them or not before they got near enough to grapple.
It was Captain Vavassour's intention to do this, if he could, pouring in a raking broadside at the proper moment; but the Dutchman soon let us know that he was not to be caught so easily, for when he arrived at about four points on our lee-bow he suddenly went in stays, giving us his starboard broadside as he did so, and the next moment a storm of 32-pound shot came hurtling about our ears, crashing through our bulwarks, killing two men and wounding five poor fellows, besides cutting up our rigging a good deal.
The caplin'll school any time from naow on. Where'll we lay, Tom Platt?" Pushing, shoving, and hauling, greeting old friends here and warning old enemies there, Commodore Tom Platt led his little fleet well to leeward of the general crowd, and immediately three or four men began to haul on their anchors with intent to lee-bow the We're Heres.
Well, let him tug his way up to windward, Bond-street fashion, if he likes the fun. What has become of the Chloe, Greenly?" "Here she is, sir, quite a league on our lee-bow, looking out, according to orders." "Ay, that is her work, and she'll do it effectually. But I don't see the Driver!" "She's dead ahead sir," answered Greenly, smiling; "her orders being rather more difficult of execution.
At all events there could be no question as to the course he ought to follow; it would be worse than folly to continue in pursuit of an invisible ship with those lights in comparatively plain view only a couple of points on his lee-bow.
P.M. dark weather; at forty-five minutes past 12, the Venerable and Pompée hauled to the wind on the starboard tack; at 1h. cut the sheet-cable, and slipped the end of the kedge hawser, and spring on the sheet-anchor, got the boats ahead to tow, found the ship drifting under the island fort, which did us considerable injury, the rocks close under the lee-bow, cut away the best bower-anchor to check her head, and bring her broadside to bear, it being calm; at twenty minutes past 1, a light breeze sprung up off-shore, cut away the best bower-cable, and made sail on the starboard tack, observed the Hannibal on shore, and the enemy take possession of her; at 4h. anchored in Rosia Bay, Gibraltar.
Williams and another man, named Rogers, lighted their pipes and settled themselves on the lee side of the deck, just forward of the fore- rigging, where they maintained a sort of perfunctory look-out on the lee-bow whilst smoking and chatting. "I say, Josh," began Rogers, in a low tone of voice, "don't you think you pitched matters just a trifle too strong in the fo'c's'le just now?
I left the ship in less than five minutes, and pulled off, under the ship's lee-bow, knowing that tacking or waring would be out of the question, under the circumstances. I stood up in the stern-sheets, and made constant casts with the hand-lead, with a short line, however, as the boat went foaming through the water.
Behold him now bronzed, pinky, bright-eyed, elastic; and only one fit in twelve days. The quarter-deck was hailed from the "look-out" with a cry that is sometimes terrible, but in this latitude and weather welcome and exciting. "Land, ho!" "Where away?" cried the officer of the watch. "A point on the lee-bow, sir."
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