"The English fleet came on in the form of a half-moon, each vessel with a large white rod at her bowsprit, in sign of amity; but Sir Andrew knew the Lord Howard of old; and undaunted by his array, came on with his guns double-shotted, and all his ports open; but failing to break through, he engaged the English admiral. A desperate conflict ensued, for the _Great Lion_ was hemmed in on every side, and boarded at both stem and stern. Through the joints of his armour, Sir Andrew was shot by an arrow, when about to retreat by the rigging into the main-top on his decks being taken; and just then, as he was falling, a cannon shot swept both his legs away. His brave crew fought round him in a circle, and he continued to cheer and encourage them, by blowing his whistle to the last, until they were all slain, or taken and disarmed. Edmund Howard, with three ships, pursued the _Jenny_; dismasted her, and shot her sweeps away; then she struck, and the survivors of both crews--only one hundred and fifty poor seamen in all--were marched in chains through the streets of London, as a spectacle to the exulting citizens. They were then flung, like felons, in the fortress which they name the Tower; but after being instructed to implore their lives from the English king, they were dismissed; and now, _Master_ Robert Barton, your father's noble ships, the _Great Lion_ and the _Unicorn_, have the honour of being esteemed the best in the navy of England, and display St. George's red cross, where St. Andrew's blue ensign waved before." "And what says our king to all this?" asked Barton, in a voice that was rendered hoarse and tremulous by grief and passion. "Ay," added the admiral, with a terrible frown; "what says King James?" "He despatched the Rothesay Herald to Windsor Castle, demanding redress, and threatening war." "And the Englishman answered--?" "That the fate of pirates should not occasion disputes between princes." "_Pirates!_" exclaimed Robert Barton, whose rage at such an epithet surmounted even his grief for his father's death. Borthwick's sinister eyes were brightened by a grim smile; but mutterings of anger were heard among the officers and seamen, many of whom had crowded round to hear the news from shore; and many a swarthy brow was knit, and many a hard hand clenched: for old Andrew Barton, like his compatriot and mess-mate, Andrew Wood, had long been the idol of the Scottish mariners. "_Pirates!_" reiterated Robert; "dared the English king stigmatize by such a name a gallant merchant mariner, who, by noble valour and honest industry, has won himself a fair estate and spotless reputation--a knight, who received his spurs from the hands of a queen--an admiral, second only to the Laird of Largo!"