He was hailed, and replied that he was Captain Gordon, of the English navy, and that he was out in search of the _Boston_, commanded by the rebel Tucker. "If I can sight the ship I'll carry him to New York, dead or alive," he said. "Have you ever seen him?" "Well, I've heard of him; they say he is a tough customer." While talking, he had been manoeuvering to gain a raking position. Just as he did so, a sailor in the British tops cried,-- "Look out below! That is Tucker himself." The Englishman was in a trap. The _Boston_ had him at a great disadvantage. There was nothing to do but to strike his flag, and this he did without firing a gun. When Charleston was taken by the British, the _Boston_ was one of the vessels cooped up there and lost. Captain Tucker was taken prisoner. After his exchange, as he had no ship, he took the sloop-of-war _Thorn_, one of his former prizes, and went out cruising as a privateer. After a three weeks' cruise, the _Thorn_ met an English ship of twenty-three guns. "She means to fight us," said the captain to his men, after watching her movements. "If we go alongside her like men she will be ours in thirty minutes; if we can't go as men we have no business there at all. Every man who is willing to fight go down the starboard gangway; all others can go down the larboard." Every soul of them took the starboard. He manoeuvered so that in a few minutes the vessels lay side by side. The Englishman opened with a broadside that did little damage. The _Thorn_ replied with a destructive fire, and kept it up so hotly that within thirty minutes a loud cry came from the English ship: "Quarters, for God's sake! Our ship is sinking. Our men are dying of their wounds." "How can you expect quarters while your flag is flying?" demanded Captain Tucker. "Our halliards are shot away." "Then cut away your ensign staff, or you'll all be dead men." It was done and the firing ceased. A dreadful execution had taken place on the Englishman's deck, more than a third of her crew being dead and wounded, while blood was everywhere. And so we take our leave of Captain Tucker. He was one of the kind of sailors that everyone likes to read about. CHAPTER IX THE LAST NAVAL BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTION THE HEROIC CAPTAIN BARNEY IN THE "HYDER ALI" CAPTURES THE "GENERAL MONK" YOU must think by this time that we had many bold and brave sailors in the Revolution. So we had. You have not been told all their exploits, but only a few among the most gallant ones. There is one more story that is worth telling, before we leave the Revolutionary times. If you are familiar with American history you will remember that Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington in October, 1781. That is generally looked on as the end of the war. There was no more fighting on land. But there was one bold affair on the water in April, 1782, six months after the work of the armies was done.