"Stop!" said Hart, and he went in for a dumb pantomime, in which he vaguely suggested that over yonder hill was an army of Englishmen. "And we mean 'avin' our rights," he ended with. And just then old Jones appeared in sight. "Are they jossers goin' to evacuate or not?" he bellowed. "What's their captain say to the _statues quo_? Don't they know the first thing about diplomatics? Tell 'em that to prepare for peace we makes war." "War it is," said Hart, and he launched himself at a crowd of Frenchmen, as his mates came tumbling down the hill. The fight was short, sharp, and pretty decisive, for the _Potluck's_ crowd numbered ten able seamen, one ordinary seaman, and two boys, or with the captain and the two mates, sixteen in all. Against this array there were twenty-one Frenchmen, and though Hart, in his first onslaught, knocked down two, he was himself stretched out by a third armed with a broken hand-spike. And Simcox fled with the infuriated foreigners at his heels. The true battle (for this was but an affair of outposts) joined on the crest of the rise, and in five minutes the English were in flight for the shelter of the piled-up _Potluck_. Old Jones was keeled over once, but Lampert and Mackenzie dragged him away and got him down to the ship. He swore most terribly. "'Ere's a pretty kettle o' fish," said he at last; "a pretty lot I 'as to my back to let a few Frenchies lick 'em this way. What's the good o' diplomatics if my men 'asn't the guts to support me? Where's that Simcox?" "Here, sir," said the ambassador. "Who told you to start a row?" demanded the skipper. "Don't you know your duty? You was to give 'em the hultimatum and retire dignified. Do you call it retirin' dignified to run and beller like a bull-calf?" Simcox looked sulky and injured. "How was I to look dignified with six of 'em after me--and two with knives and one with a meat-chopper?" he asked. "And as for startin' a rough house, 'twas Hart as done it." "Where's Hart?" yelled the Guffin. "'Ere, 'Art, where are you?" said the crowd. "I believe he's a prisoner," said Lampert. "Oh, Lord," said the crowd, "but Jack never 'ad no discretion." "We must 'ave him liberated," said the skipper firmly. "No man of mine must be in the 'ands of them mutilatin' French. Simcox, you'll 'ave to go to 'em again and open n'gotiashuns!" "No, sir," said Simcox, "if you'll excuse me, I'll do nothin' of the sort. I've had my fill up of bein' ambassador." "This is mut'ny," said the skipper; "but under the painful national circumstances I shan't do nothin' but order you to your cabin, where you'll consider yourself in custody." Simcox looked greatly relieved, and went without delay. "Mr. Lampert, you'll be hambassador," said the old man, after a drink of brandy. The mate looked the skipper up and down. "I'll see you further first," he cried. "'Twas you that started the row and the trouble, and you can get out of it as you like."