But Mr. Rhett did not intend that the pirates should play him this
little trick; he wanted to fight the dastardly wretches in the river,
where they could not get away, and he had no idea of letting them sneak
out to sea. Consequently as the _Royal James_, under full sail, was
making her way down the river, keeping as far as possible from her two
enemies, Mr. Rhett ordered his ships to bear down upon her so as to cut
off her retreat and force her toward the opposite shore of the river.
This manoeuvre was performed with great success. The two Charles Town
sloops sailed so boldly and swiftly toward the _Royal James_ that the
latter was obliged to hug the shore, and the first thing the pirates
knew they were stuck fast and tight upon a sand bar. Three minutes
afterward the _Henry_ ran upon a sand bar, and there being enough of
these obstructions in that river to satisfy any ordinary demand, the
_Sea-Nymph_ very soon grounded herself upon another of them. But
unfortunately she took up her permanent position at a considerable
distance from her consort.
Here now were the vessels which were to conduct this memorable
sea-fight, all three fast in the sand and unable to move, and their
predicament was made the worse by the fact that it would be five hours
before the tide would rise high enough for any one of them to float.
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