Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. A BRUSH WITH PRIVATEERS. HE night passed quietly. Once or twice lights were seen as the schooners showed a lantern for a moment to notify their exact position to each other. As soon as dawn broke every man on board the Lizzie Anderson was at his post. The schooners had drawn up a little, but were still under easy sail. The moment that the day grew clear enough for it to be perceived that no other sail could be seen above the horizon, fresh sail was spread upon the schooners and they began rapidly to draw up. On the previous evening the four heavy guns had been brought aft, and the Indiaman could have made a long running fight with her opponents had the captain been disposed. To this, however, he objected strongly, as his vessel was sure to be hulled and knocked about severely, and perhaps some of his masts cut down. He was confident in his power to beat ofF the two privateers, and he therefore did not add a stitch of canvas to the easy sail under which he had been holding on all night. Presently a puff of smoke shot out from the bow of the schooner from the weather quarter, followed almost instantaneously by one from her consort. Two round shot struck up the water, the one under the Indiaman's stern, the other under her forefoot. "The rascals are well within range," the captain said quietly "See, they are taking off canvas again. They A SURPRISE FOR THE FRENCHMEN. 35 intend to keep at that distance and hammer away at us. Just what I thought would be their tactics." Two more shots were fired by the schooners. One flew over the deck between the masts and plunged harmlessly in the sea beyond, the other struck the hull with a dull crash. " It is lucky the ladies were sent into the hold," the captain said; "that shot has gone right through their c...