Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: II MAGNIFICENT ARRY CHAPTER IX THE TWO PRIVATEERS A ROLL of thunder woke Kit. Starting up on his elbows he looked about him. Where was he ? Yesterday he had waked in the blue room at the White Cellar, the sparrows chirping under the eaves, the smiling chamber-maid at the door saying, " Half- past seven, sir," and the rumble of the Lewes coach in the yard beneath. It was an altogether different rumble that he heard now. He had never heard it before ; yet how well he knew it. It was the roll of the drum, beating to quarters. Across the sea a bugle answered it. The boy thrust his head out of the port. All about him lay a shining floor of sea, gently undulating and six cables lengths away, bearing down upon the sloop, a black ship flying the tricolour. Across the bulk-head a sudden roaring voice boomed out an order. There was the scuffle and scamper of naked feet; the noise of tackle running, shot trundling along the deck, and the roll of guns. Then all was silence but for the thumping of his heart, and the slop of the water about her sides as the little Tremendous footed it into her last fight. Kit rushed on deck. The sloop, stripped to her topsails, was stirring the water faintly. Only one man was on deck—old Ding-dong, conning the ship himself bareheaded. He was in a worn frock-coat, and faded yellow kerseymere waistcoat, stained with soup and tar; and the hands on the wheel wore grimy kid gloves. There was such a dinginess about the old man's garments, and such a dignity about his face, that Kit almost laughed to see him. Last night the old Commander might have been a Channel pilot, in his rough sea-jacket and sea-boots. To-day he was a King's officer, fighting a King's ship ; and no mistaking it. There was a change in ...