We immediately manned one of the long brass guns, training it right aft on the advancing pirate. I directed the gunner to aim at the foeman’s spars, endeavouring to cripple her aloft. With a flash and a roar the iron missile sped on its way, striking the pirate’s topsail yard. There was a shower of splinters and the broken spar fell, till brought up by the strain on the topsail and t’gallant sail, and at the same time the halyards of the foresail parted, bringing that sail down to the deck with a run. Notwithstanding our danger a cheer broke from us; but before we could reload our gun the pirate yawed and let fly with her larboard guns. The result was disastrous to us. Two of our men were killed on the spot and two wounded, while both our jury masts went by the board, and the _Little Gannet_ lay helpless on the waves. The end was not long in coming. After another broadside the pirate backed her main topsail and hove to at less than a cable’s length off. Two of her boats were lowered, and a swarm of bearded ruffians tumbled into them and pushed off towards us. Resistance was hopeless, but the pirate appeared anxious to take us alive, and, partially stunned by a blow from a handspike, I was thrown into one of the boats and taken on board our captor, where, together with five survivors, I was placed under guard on her quarterdeck. The pirate ship was called the _Friend of the Sea_, but she was the enemy of all who sailed upon it. She was heavily armed and manned, her crew comprising a ruffianly assortment of every nation of south-western Europe, and, judging by the gold ornaments that every man wore, their cruise had been highly successful for these rogues. They were busily engaged in transferring the cargo of the _Little Gannet_ to their own vessel. Much of this consisted of valuable stores that the Algerine had on board when we took her, and the satisfaction of the lawless freebooters was unbounded. The two brass guns were also taken on board, the work of slinging them from the _Little Gannet_ to the boats, and thence to the pirate ship, being performed with a celerity and skill that would have drawn an expression of admiration from the lips of Captain Poynings himself. When the whole of the valuable stores were safely on board, the pirates fired their prize, and an hour later, burned to the water’s edge, my first command sank in a cloud of smoke and steam. The pirates worked unceasingly. Their next task was to repair the splintered foreyard, which they did by fishing it with capstan bars and small spars. While this work was in progress there was a shout from the lookout, and from the hurrying scrambles of the crew I guessed that another sail was sighted.