"
Chapter 16.
The stars were bright, and with the aid of a night glass the
brigantine was kept in sight; the sailors relieving each other at
the masthead every half hour. Frank would have stayed on deck all
night, had not George Lechmere persuaded him to go below.
"Look here, Major," he said. "It is like enough that we may have a
stiff bit of fighting tomorrow. Now we know that those fellows have
guns, though they may be but two or three pounders, and it is clear
that it is not going to be altogether such a one-sided job as we
looked for. You have had a long day already, sir. You have got an
ugly wound, and if you don't lie down and keep yourself quiet, you
won't be fit to do your share in any fighting tomorrow; and I
reckon that you would like to be in the front of this skirmish. You
know in India wounds inflamed very soon if one did not keep quiet
with them, and I expect that it is just the same here.
"It is not as if you could do any good on deck. The men are just as
anxious to catch that brigantine as you are. They were hot enough
before, but now that one of their mates has been killed, and five
or six wounded, I believe that they would go round the world rather
than let her slip through their hands.
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