"We had a sharp brush with two of them, on the last voyage, but we
beat them off. We were stronger then than we are now, for we had two
hundred troops on board, and should have astonished them if they had
come close enough to try boarding--in fact, we were slackening our
fire, to tempt them to do so, when they made out that a large craft
coming up astern was an English frigate, and sheered off.
"I don't know what the end of it was, but I rather fancy they were
taken. The frigate followed them, gaining fast; and, later on, we
could hear guns in the distance."
"You did not join in the chase then, doctor?"
"Oh, no. Our business is not fighting. If we are attacked, of course
we defend ourselves; but we don't go a foot out of our way, if we can
help it."
Three weeks at sea had done wonders for Mrs. Holland. Now that she was
fairly embarked upon her quest, the expression of anxiety gradually
died out. The sea air braced up her nerves, and, what was of still
greater benefit to her, she was able to sleep soundly and dreamlessly,
a thing she had not done for years. Dick was delighted at the change
in her.
"You look quite a different woman, Mother," he said. "I don't think
your friends at Shadwell would know you, if they were to see you now.
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