Page:Memoirs of a Huguenot Family.djvu/126

 120 At that moment the son fell down in the boat and dropped the sail, his father left the helm, and, instead of hoisting the sail at once, took a rope's-end and pretended to chastise him, the hard blows falling on the wood and making a great noise. The son cried out lustily, and the people in the frigate threatened that if the father had not more patience with his son, they would be with him directly, and treat him in the same way. He made excuses for himself by saying, that his son was as drunk as a hog. He then ordered him to hoist the sail again, and he resumed his station at the helm. The son let it fall a second time, almost as soon as he had raised it, and repeated the same manoeuvre a third time, and thus we managed to give the English captain information of who we were, without exciting the suspicions of the officers in the frigate. They were so fearful of some accident happening, that they called out to our boatman not to think of making Tremblade, for night was fast approaching, the wind contrary, and he would inevitably be lost. They advised him to return to Rochelle with the fair wind, which was exactly the advice we wished to receive from the frigate. Our course was instantly altered, the boat was put before the wind, and we bade them adieu very cordially in our hearts, but we still remained closely covered at the bottom of the boat.

In the mean time, the English vessel had answered our signal, but she was getting fairly out to sea, and we dared not follow her for fear of the frigate, which still remained at anchor. About twilight the boatman said we must make the attempt while it was yet not quite dark, or we should be swallowed up by the waves. "We had no sooner altered our course, than we observed the frigate take up her