I consented to this readily, and went immediately on board, and the two men with me.  As soon as I came to the ship’s side, my partner, who was on board, came out on the quarter-deck, and called to me, with a great deal of joy, “We have stopped the leak—­we have stopped the leak!”—­“Say you so?” said I; “thank God; but weigh anchor, then, immediately.”—­“Weigh!” says he; “what do you mean by that?  What is the matter?”—­“Ask no questions,” said I; “but set all hands to work, and weigh without losing a minute.”  He was surprised; however, he called the captain, and he immediately ordered the anchor to be got up; and though the tide was not quite down, yet a little land-breeze blowing, we stood out to sea.  Then I called him into the cabin, and told him the story; and we called in the men, and they told us the rest of it; but as it took up a great deal of time, before we had done a seaman comes to the cabin door, and called out to us that the captain bade him tell us we were chased by five sloops, or boats, full of men.  “Very well,” said I, “then it is apparent there is something in it.”  I then ordered all our men to be called up, and told them there was a design to seize the ship, and take us for pirates, and asked them if they would stand by us, and by one another; the men answered cheerfully, one and all, that they would live and die with us.  Then I asked the captain what way he thought best for us to manage a fight with them; for resist them I was resolved we would, and that to the last drop.  He said readily, that the way was to keep them off with our great shot as long as we could, and then to use our small arms, to keep them from boarding us; but when neither of these would do any longer, we would retire to our close quarters, for perhaps they had not materials to break open our bulkheads, or get in upon us.

The gunner had in the meantime orders to bring two guns, to bear fore and aft, out of the steerage, to clear the deck, and load them with musket-bullets, and small pieces of old iron, and what came next to hand.  Thus we made ready for fight; but all this while we kept out to sea, with wind enough, and could see the boats at a distance, being five large longboats, following us with all the sail they could make.

Two of those boats (which by our glasses we could see were English) outsailed the rest, were near two leagues ahead of them, and gained upon us considerably, so that we found they would come up with us; upon which we fired a gun without ball, to intimate that they should bring to:  and we put out a flag of truce, as a signal for parley:  but they came crowding after us till within shot, when we took in our white flag, they having made no answer to it, and hung out a red flag, and fired at them with a shot.  Notwithstanding this, they came on till they were near enough to call to them with a speaking-trumpet, bidding them keep off at their peril.