The six vessels kept within easy distance of each other, and
Captain Salt, on the deck of _L'Heureuse_, directed their movements
with a serenity that cheered even the poor men on the benches below
him. As the awning shook and the masts creaked gently above them,
they stretched their limbs, drew long breaths, and felt that after
all it was good to live.
So steady did the wind keep all day that about five in the evening
they brought the English coast in sight. It was the opinion of all
the captains that they should run up for Harwich at once; but the
Englishman had other views.
"It is too early," he told M. de la Pailletine. "There are cruisers
about, and if we are seen the game will be spoiled."
He gave orders to lower the sails and stand off till nightfall.
The captain, of course, obeyed.
They had not lain to above an hour when the man who had been sent to
the masthead of _L'Heureuse_ shouted out:
"A fleet to the north!"
"Whither bound?" called up Captain Salt.
"Steering west."
"What number?"
The man was silent for a moment, then answered:
"Thirty-six sail, all merchant-built, and an escort."
"What is she like?"
"A frigate, of about thirty guns."
CHAPTER XIV.
THE GALLEYS AND THE FRIGATE.
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