With the flag in the Channel Author:James Barnes 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: CHAPTER III BOARDED By the time that Captain Conyngham reached the deck the outlines of the stranger could be seen. She towered huge and indistinct in the ... more »white gloom high above the little Peggy, almost threatening to roll her down as she swept broadside on. "A frigate!" muttered Conyngham below his breath to Mr. Jarvis, as he noticed the double line of ports out of which the black muzzles of the guns stretched menacingly. Just as he spoke the Charming Peggy's bowsprit struck gently in the foreshrouds of the big one, and with hardly a jar they came together. Strange to say there had been no warning shout from either side. But that the larger vessel had perceived the Peggy first was evident, for instantly half a score of men, a few armed with cutlasses, swarmed down the frigate's side and jumped on deck. They were headed by a young officer, who walked quickly aft. " What vessel is this? " he asked. There was no use in dissembling then. Plainly the jig was up with a vengeance. Quietly, with his arms folded, Captain Conyngham gave the name of the Charming Peggy, but added that she was merely a merchant vessel from Philadelphia in ballast proceeding to Holland to be sold. At this moment a voice from the frigate hailed the deck, and, calling the young officer by name, asked him the name of the clumsy craft that had dared to run afoul so deliberately of one of his Majesty's ships of war. " A Yankee rebel brig," returned the young officer. " I think we've made a prize, sir; and she's armed, too," he added, noticing for the first time the six-pounder amidships. The unseen owner of the voice from the frigate's quarter-deck replied again. " Examine into her papers and if she's all right let her proceed. If not, we'll put a prize crew on her and send her into Po...« less