Under the Meteor Flag | Page 7

she may possibly carry a few more
men. Her skipper will of course escape if he can! and when he finds
that impossible, he will, equally of course, fight, and very likely fight
well. Still, I do not think we shall have much difficulty in taking him."
"In the meantime, however," remarked Sennitt, who had his glass
constantly at his eye, "unless I am greatly mistaken, he is gradually
creeping away from us; his rigging does not show out as plainly as it
did ten minutes ago, yet there is more light."
Another long and anxious observation of the chase by both officers
followed; and, imitating their example, I also brought my glass to bear
upon the flying craft. Flying she literally seemed to be rather than
sailing. At one moment her hull was completely hidden by an
intervening wave-crest, her sails only being visible; the next she would
rush into view, her low hull deluged with spray which glanced in the
moonlight like a shower of diamonds as it flew over her almost to the
height of her low mast-heads and dissipated itself in the sea to leeward;
while her masts bent like willow wands, inclining at what seemed to
me a fearfully perilous angle with the horizon.

"Upon my word, Sennitt, I fear you are right," at last said the skipper,
bringing his glass reluctantly down into the hollow of his arm. "Let us
lay our glasses aside for half an hour, we shall then be better able to
judge which ship is gaining upon the other, and if we find that we are
losing ground, there will be nothing for it but to shake the remaining
reef out of our topsails, and get the flying-jib on her; our spars are good,
and the rigging new; both ought to be quite capable of standing a little
extra strain."
"It will be rather a risky business to increase the strain already laid
upon the spars," said the first lieutenant, glancing anxiously aloft at the
topmasts, which were springing and buckling at every plunge of the
ship, with the enormous pressure of the tightly distended topsails; "still
it is perhaps worth trying; it would be a fine feather in our caps if we
could send into port the first prize of the war."
The stipulated half-hour passed away; and at the end of that period the
unwelcome conviction forced itself upon every one that the lugger was
having the best of it.
"There is no help for it, Mr Sennitt," said the skipper, "shake that reef
out of the topsails, and set the flying-jib; she must bear it."
Excited by the exhilarating influence of the chase, the hands sprang
aloft with the utmost alacrity, and in an incredibly short space of time
had the reel out and the topsails distended to their fullest extent; the
flying-jib flapped wildly in the wind for a moment or two, and then
yielded to the restraint of the sheet, at which it tugged as though it
would tear away the cleat to which it was secured.
The effect of these additions to the before heavy pressure of canvas
upon the ship was immediate, and, to my inexperience, highly alarming.
The brig now lay over upon her side to such an extent that it was with
the utmost difficulty I could retain my footing upon the steeply-
inclined and slippery plane of the deck. The lee sail was completely
buried in the sea, which boiled in over the lee bow and surged aft along
the deck like a mill-race; while ever and anon an ominous crack aloft
told of the severity of the strain upon the overtaxed spars.

Mr Sennitt kept glancing uneasily upward, as these portentous sounds
smote upon his ear; which Captain Brisac observing, he turned to the
first lieutenant and said,--
"Do not be alarmed, Sennitt; it is only the spars settling into their berths;
they--"
Crash! I sprang instinctively aft to the taffrail, out of the way of the
wreck, and then looked up to see both topmasts, snapped off like
carrots just above the caps, go swooping over to leeward, to hang by
their rigging under the lee of the courses; while the ship, with a sharp
shock, as though she had touched upon some unseen rock, recovered
herself and floated once more upon an almost even keel.
Captain Brisac was much too gentlemanly to swear. He simply turned
to the first lieutenant and said, "We have rather overdone it this time,
Sennitt; however, it is no use crying over spilt milk, so turn the hands
up, please, and let them clear away the wreck, and repair damages as
soon as possible."
The boom of a distant gun told us that the crew of the lugger had not
been unobservant of our