Instantly the scene changed as by magic; the foremost
vessel swung broadside toward us, and bringing her guns into play returned our fire, at the same time moving parallel to our front for a short distance and then turning back with the evident intention of completing a great circle which would bring her up to position once more opposite our firing line; the other
vessels followed in her wake, each one opening upon us as she swung into position.
Two hours afterwards, the other
vessels had overtaken the flagship, and the three, not venturing perhaps to enter the narrow entrance of the harbor, cast anchor between Havre and La Heve.
There was a much better prospect, they thought, of growing rich by plundering
vessels which still sailed in the sea than by seeking for a ship that had lain beneath the waves full half a century.
If danger threatens one of your
vessels on the ocean, the first impression is the feeling of an abyss above and below.
He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied, anchored at the Battery, a cable's length off at most, a trading
vessel, with a screw, well-shaped, whose funnel, puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that she was getting ready for departure.
Before fifteen days were over our renegade had already purchased an excellent
vessel with room for more than thirty persons; and to make the transaction safe and lend a colour to it, he thought it well to make, as he did, a voyage to a place called Shershel, twenty leagues from Algiers on the Oran side, where there is an extensive trade in dried figs.
As usual, a pilot put off immediately, and rounding the Chateau d'If, got on board the
vessel between Cape Morgion and Rion island.
To these questions they would answer, that he was getting better and better, and was expected aboard every day; meantime, the two Captains, Peleg and Bildad, could attend to everything necessary to fit the
vessel for the voyage.
We gave her chase, in hopes of being informed by the crew whether there were any Arabian
vessels at the mouth of the strait; but the Moors, who all entertain dismal apprehensions of the Franks, plied their oars and sail with the utmost diligence, and as soon as they reached land, quitted their boat, and scoured to the mountains.
In pursuit of the sperm whale, we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees to the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course was determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the
vessel before the breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did the rest between them.
Here the
vessels engaged in the fur trade touched to make repairs and procure provisions; and here they often sheltered themselves during the winters that occurred in their long coasting expeditions.
Launcelot Linzie, you have been received on board my
vessel in the capacity of medical attendant on Miss Natalie Graybrooke, at her father's request.
