leave his crew the best possible chance for their lives.  I will do Marble the justice to say, he was active in making these arrangements, though, had the question of destroying the entire prize-crew presented itself, on one side, and that of losing the ship on the other, he would not have hesitated about sinking Great Britain itself, were it possible to achieve the last.  I was more human, and felt exceedingly relieved when I again found myself in command of the Dawn, after an interregnum of less than ten hours, without a drop of blood having been spilled.

As soon as everything required was passed into the boat, she was dropped astern, nearly to the whole length of the studding-sail halyards.  This would make her tow more safely to both parties:  to those in her, because there was less risk of the ship’s dragging her under; and to ourselves, because it removed all danger of the Englishmen’s returning our favour, by effecting a surprise in their turn.  At such a distance from the ship, there would always be time for us to rally and defeat any attempt to get alongside.

Chapter XV.

  Capt. “And as for these whose ransome we have set,
  It is our pleasure, one of them depart:—­
  Therefore come you with us, and let him go.”

  King Henry VI.

By such simple means, and without resistance, as it might be, did I recover the possession of my ship, the Dawn.  But, now that the good vessel was in my power, it was by no means an easy thing to say what was to be done with her.  We were just on the verge of the ground occupied by the channel cruisers, and it was preposterous to think of running the gauntlet among so many craft, with the expectation of escaping.  It is true, we might fall in with twenty English man-of-war vessels, before we met with another Speedy, to seize us and order us into Plymouth, had everything been in order and in the usual state; but no cruiser would or could board us, and not demand the reasons why so large a ship should be navigated by so small a crew.  It was over matters like these that Marble and I now consulted, no one being on the quarter-deck but the mate, who stood at the wheel, and myself.  The cook was keeping a look-out on the forecastle.  The Englishman had lain down, in full view, by my orders, at the foot of the main-mast; while Neb, ever ready to sleep when not on duty, was catching a nap on the booms.

“We have got the ship, Moses,” I commenced, “and the question next arises, what we are to do with her?”

“Carry her to her port of destination, Captain Wallingford, to be sure.  What else can we do with her, sir?”

“Ay, that is well enough, if it can be done.  But, in addition to the difficulty of four men’s taking care of a craft of five hundred tons, we have a sea before us that is covered with English cruisers.”

“As for the four men, you may safely set us down as eight.  I’ll engage we do as much in a blow, as eight such fellows as are picked up now-a-days ’long shore.  The men of the present time are mere children to those one met with in my youth, Miles!”