“Neither Neb, nor the cook, nor I, am a man of other times, but are all men of to-day; so you must call us but three, after all.  I know we can do much; but a gale may come that would teach us our insignificance.  As it is, we are barely able to furl the main-top-gallant-sail in a squall, leaving one hand at the wheel, and another to let go rigging.  No, no, Moses; we must admit we are rather short-handed, putting the best face on the matter.”

“If you generalize in that mode, Miles, my dear boy, I must allow that we are.  We can go up channel, and ten chances to one but we fall in with some Yankee, who will lend us a hand or two.”

“We shall be twice as likely to meet with King George’s ships, who will overhaul our articles, and want to know what has become of the rest of our people.”

“Then we’ll tell ’em that the rest of the crew has been pressed; they know their own tricks too well, not to see the reasonableness of such an idee.”

“No officer would leave a vessel of this size with only her master, mate, cook, and one man, to take care of her, even had he found a crew of deserters from his own ship in her.  In such a case, and admitting a right to impress from a foreigner at all, it would be his duty to send a party to carry the craft into port.  No, no, Moses—­we must give all the English a wide berth, now, or they will walk us into Plymouth, yet.”

“Blast the hole!  I was in it, a prisoner, during the revvylushun, and never want to see its face ag’in.  They’ve got what they call the Mill Prison there, and it’s a mill that does grinding less to my taste, than the thing of your’n at Clawbonny.  Why not go north-about, Miles?  There must be few cruisers up that-a-way.”

“The road is too long, the weather is apt to be too thick, and the coast is too dangerous for us, Moses.  We have but two expedients to choose between—­to turn our heads to the westward, and try to get home, trusting to luck to bring us up with some American who will help us, or steer due east and run for a French port—­Bordeaux for instance—­where we might either dispose of the cargo, or ship a new crew, and sail for our port of destination.”

“Then try the last, by all means.  With this wind, we might shove the ship in with the land in the course of two or three days, and go clear of everything!  I like the idee, and think it can be carried out.  Burdux is always full of Americans, and there must be men enough, to be had for the asking, knocking about the quays.”

After a little further conversation, we determined on this plan, and set about carrying it into execution on the spot.  In rounding-to, the ship had been brought by the wind on the larboard tack, and was standing to the northward and westward, instead of to the eastward, the course we now wished to steer.  It was necessary, therefore, to ware round and get the ship’s head in the right direction.  This was not a difficult manoeuvre at all, and the Englishman helping us, with seeming good-will, it was soon successfully executed.  When this was accomplished, I sent the English sailor into the cabin to keep Diggens company, and we set a watch on deck of two and two, Marble and myself taking charge four hours and four hours, in the old mode.