“Sam and Seth Hartley are in the bow, an’ I came aft to trim ship, for she was too much by the head with all three forward. There’s one thing certain, we can’t make Gowanus cove without tackin’, an’ that’s likely to be a nice job with so many vessels in the way.” “It’s more likely we’ll be overhauled before gettin’ that far,” I replied, hoping to still his tongue by reminding him of the peril, for conversing when a fellow feels irritable and nervous is not pleasing. The sloop dashed on as if eager to come upon the enemy. It seemed to me that we had never seen her show one-half the speed she did on this night when we were bearing down upon the king’s fleet, and while I would not have checked the pace, yet were we moving too swiftly for comfort, although one having more courage than I, might say that the quicker the danger was encountered the better, since it saved a disagreeable time of suspense. I believed less than half an hour had elapsed from the time we weighed anchor, before we were running under the quarter of the frigate which lay nearest the Jersey shore, and those on board may have hailed us a dozen times without our being aware of the fact, so great was the noise made by the wind and the water; but when we were come directly astern, within half a musket-shot, I should say, some one cried out from the quarter-deck. “They must be lubbers not to understand that we can’t come about here,” Abe said angrily, and I replied with a laugh, for courage was returning as the danger grew thicker: “It makes no difference what they think, we’re bound to keep movin’ now, or throw the mast out of her. If those lobster-backs count on stoppin’ her, it’s time they got their firearms ready, else we shall be out of range.” It was as if we had no more than passed this ship when we were close aboard of another, and this time when the wind brought the faintest echo of some sentinel’s voice, a tiny flash of flame followed, telling that whosoever was on duty had discharged his musket. But no report was heard for the wind would have swallowed up even the roar of a cannon, and as for the missile, it went out to sea, very like. I had no time to think of what the Britishers might do. It required all my skill and strength to avoid the numerous craft in the way, and even when from one ship, after we had passed to windward of her, there came a crackling of musketry which told that the fellow had fired point blank at us, I had no time to give heed to it. It was enough that we were not harmed. The wind was increasing momentarily, and growing more spiteful all the while. The sloop pitched and plunged as if she had been in the open sea, staggering under the weight of canvas that was more than I would have believed she could have carried, had I given heed to the matter. Common prudence should have dictated our reefing close down; but we had no time to think of it.