16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
'The brig ahoy,' hailed Jack in his powerful
voice, now from the quarterdeck. No reply,
but in the rapidly clearing air a great deal of
activity could be made out.
'Colours,' said Jack to Reade, the signal midshipman;
and then louder, very much louder,
as the colours broke out, 'What ship is that?
Qué barco está?'
'Noah's Ark, ten days out of Ararat, New Jersey,'
replied the brig, with a cackle of maniac
laughter. Her big fore-and-aft mainsail was
hauled right aft, she heeled violently to leeward,
her stern-chaser went off, sending a ball
through the Surprise's forestaysail, and she
vanished into the mist.
The Surprise replied at random. The crack of
the single gun, a forecastle carronade, was
still echoing to and fro between the curtains of
fog when a second dark form heaved up on