16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
aboard she gathered way. She had a fine topgallant
breeze on her quarter and she moved
at a surprising pace.
Her people packed on sail faster than would
have been believed possible for so few hands,
and their calculations were right: the whaler,
wearing American colours on every mast,
reached the Franklin well before the Surprise,
which had paused to take the eastern boats in
tow.
When the whaler was within pistol-shot the
Franklin hauled down her Stars and Stripes,
hoisted the ensign and sent a twenty-fourpound
ball skipping across the whaler's forefoot.
She let fly her sheets and Tom Pullings
hailed her in a voice of brass: 'Strike your colours
and come under my lee.'
She was still lying there when the Surprise
came up with the eastern boats strung out be-