At this instant, the officer in the Black Prince’s cutter fired into that of the Speedy; and one of our men suddenly dropped his oar.  He was hit.  I thought the poor fellow’s arm was broken, for I could see him lay a hand on the injured part, like a man who suffered pain.  He instantly changed places with the second-mate, who, however, seized his oar, and began to use it, with great power.  Three more muskets were fired, seemingly without doing any harm.  But the leading boat lost by this delay, while its pursuers held steadily on.  Our own people were within a hundred and fifty yards of us—­the English less than twenty behind them.  Why the latter did not now fire, I do not actually know; but I suppose it to be, because their muskets were all discharged, and the race was now too sharp to allow their officer to re-load.  Possibly he did not wish to take life unnecessarily, the chances fast turning to his side.

I called out to Marble to stand by with a rope.  The ship was slowly drawing ahead, and there was no time to be lost.  I then shouted to my second-mate to be of good heart, and he answered with a cheer.  The English hurrahed, and we sent back the cry from the ship.

“Stand by in the boat, for the rope!” I cried—­“Heave, Moses—­Heave!”

Marble hove from the mizen chains, the rope was caught, and a motion of my hand told Neb to keep the ship off, until everything drew.  This was done, and the rattling of the clew-garnet blocks announced that Diogenes was hauling down the main-tack with the strength of a giant.  The sail opened, and Moses and I hauled in the sheet, until the ship felt the enormous additional pressure of this broad breadth of canvass.  At this instant there was a cheer from the boat.  Leaping upon the taffrail, I saw the men erect, waving their hats, and looking toward the pursuing cutter, then within a hundred feet of them, vainly attempting to come up with a boat that was now dragging nearly bows under, and feeling all the strength of our tow.  The officer cheered his men to renewed exertion, and he began to load a musket.  At this moment the tow-line slipped from the thwart of the boat, and we shot away, as it seemed to me, a hundred feet, on the send of the very next sea.  There was not time for the Americans to get seated at their oars again, before the other cutter grappled.  All that had been gained was lost, and, after so near and close a chance of recovering the most valuable portion of my crew, was I again left on the ocean with the old four to manage the Dawn!

The English lieutenant knew his business too well, to abandon the ship while there was a chance of recovering her.  The wind lulled a little, and he thought the hope of success worth an effort.  Merely taking all the oars out of the Speedy’s cutter, he dashed on in our wake.  At first he gained, nor was I unwilling he should, for I wished to speak him.  The main and fore-sheets were eased off, and Neb was told to keep the top-sails lifting.  Thus favoured, he soon got within fifty yards of us, straining every nerve to get nearer.  The officer pointed a musket at me, and ordered me to heave-to.  I jumped off the taffrail, and, with my body covered to the shoulders, pointed one of the French muskets at him, and warned him to keep off.