The _Milford_, which was the name of the British ship, kept firing at the _Providence_, but all her shot plunged into the waves. It was like the hound barking at the deer. And every time the _Milford_ sent a broadside, Paul Jones replied with a musket. After he had all the fun he wanted out of the lumbering frigate, he spread all sail again and soon left her out of sight. We cannot tell the whole story of the cruise of the _Providence_. In less than two months it captured sixteen vessels and burned some others. Soon after that Jones was made captain of the _Alfred_, the ship on which he had raised the first flag. With this he took a splendid prize, the brig _Mellish_, on which were ten thousand uniforms for the British soldiers. Many a ragged soldier in Washington's army thanked him that winter for a fine suit of warm clothing. Let us tell one more fine thing that Captain Jones did in American waters before he crossed the ocean to the British seas. Sailing along the coast of Canada he came upon a fleet of coal vessels, with a British frigate to take care of them. But it was foggy and the coalers were scattered; so that Jones picked up three of them while the frigate went on with her eyes shut, not knowing that anything was wrong. Two days afterward he came upon a British privateer, which was on the hunt for American vessels. But when the _Alfred_ came up, before more than a few shots had been fired, down came its flag. Captain Jones now thought it time to get home. His ship was crowded with prisoners, he was short of food and water, and he had four prizes to look after, which were manned with some of his crew. But he was not to get home without another adventure; for, late one afternoon, there came in sight the frigate _Milford_, the one which he had saluted with musket balls. He could not play with her now, for he had his prizes to look after, and while he could outsail her, the prizes could not. So he told the captains of the prizes to keep on as they were, no matter what signals he made. Night soon came, and the _Alfred_ sailed on, with two lanterns swinging in her tops. Soon she changed her course and the _Milford_ followed. No doubt her captain thought that the Yankee had lost his wits, to sail on with lanterns blazing and make it easy to keep in his track. But when morning dawned the British captain found he had been tricked. The _Alfred_ was in sight, but all the prizes were gone except the privateer, whose stupid captain had not obeyed orders. The result was that the privateer was recaptured. But the _Alfred_ easily kept ahead. That afternoon a squall of snow came upon the sea, and the Yankee craft, "amid clouds and darkness and foaming surges, made her escape."