During the night the pursuing vessels lessened sail and maintained a position about a mile astern of the chase, evidently intending to attack in the morning.  The day spent in the open air, with plenty of the best eating and drinking which could be found in the ship, had greatly reinvigorated the released prisoners, and when at daybreak the vessels behind were seen to be closing up, all were ready for the fight.  The enemy, sure that their prey could not escape them, did not fire a shot as they came up in her wake.  The two immediately behind were but a cable’s length asunder, and evidently meant to engage on either side.  Harry ordered the greater portion of men below, leaving only sufficient on deck to fight the guns, to whose use many were well accustomed.  The wind was very light, and the ships were scarcely stealing through the water.

“We had better fight them broadside to broadside,” Harry said; “but keep on edging down toward the ship to leeward.”

The fight began with a heavy fire of musketry from the tops, where, in all three ships, the best marksmen had been posted.  Then, when they were abreast of each other, the guns opened fire.  The vessels were little more than fifty yards apart.  For half an hour the engagement continued without intermission.  Both ships of the enemy had brought all their guns over to the sides opposed to the Royalist vessel, and fought eighteen guns to his eight.  Fearing to injure each other, both aimed entirely at the hull of their opponent, while Harry’s guns were pointed at the masts and rigging.  The sides of the Lass of Devon were splintered and broken in all directions, while those of his assailants showed scarcely a shot mark.  The fire of his men in the tops—­all old soldiers—­had been so heavy and deadly that they had killed most of the marksmen in the enemy’s tops, and had driven the rest below.  All this time the Lass of Devon was raked by the fire of the third vessel which had come up behind her, and raked her fore and aft.  At the end of the half-hour the mainmast of the vessel to windward, which had been several times struck, fell with a crash.

“Now, captain, lay her aboard the ship to leeward.”

They had already edged down within twenty yards of this ship, and slowly as they were moving through the water, in another three or four minutes the vessels grated together.  At Harry’s first order the whole of his men had swarmed on deck, pouring in such a fire of musketry that none could stand alive at the enemy’s tiller to keep her head away as the Lass of Devon approached.  As the vessels touched Harry leaped from the bulwark on to the deck of the enemy, followed by Jacob and his men.  The Parliamentary troops had also rushed on deck, and, although inferior in numbers, for they counted but eighty men, they made a sturdy stand.  Gradually, however, they were driven back, when an exclamation from Mike, who, as usual, was close to Harry, caused him to look round.