But to return to the incident before us. An hour and a half after sighting the Frenchman, the _Warren Hastings_ noticed that the frigate was shaking out her reefs from her topsails and was approaching the English ship, the latter still keeping on her course. At half-past nine that morning the frigate was fast gaining on the Indiaman, and nevertheless set her topgallant-sails as well as her fore and maintopmast stuns’ls. Her next act was to hoist an English blue ensign and pennant. However, the skipper of the _Warren Hastings_ was far too experienced in the ways of the sea to be taken in by this piece of bluff, and still kept his ship on her way. He replied to the signals by hoisting his English colours and making the private signal, of which we have spoken elsewhere in this volume. The Frenchman, however, made no reply to this private signal, so it was pretty certain that there was treachery.
On came the frigate, tearing through the water with the smart breeze, doing good work all the time. Meanwhile, the East Indiaman’s commander was seeing that everything was in readiness for obvious impending trouble. At eleven o’clock he shortened sail, hauled up a point and cleared his ship for action. One hour later the frigate also took in her “fancy” canvas—her stuns’ls and her staysails, but also her mainsail too. And having approached to within one mile hauled down her English colours and sent up her French flag. She had intentionally chosen the leeward position, because of the high wind, and opened fire at the Indiaman’s port quarter within musket-shot distance—that is to say, about four hundred yards away; and so soon as the Indiaman could bring her guns to bear this fire was returned. This firing went on for about a quarter of an hour, when the frigate bore away, let her sails fill, and went on ahead. The only damage that had been done to the Indiaman was to carry away part of the rigging.
After the frigate had got about a mile and a half ahead the latter tacked, passed close to leeward of the _Warren Hastings_ again, and once more a smart fire was exchanged. This time several of the _Warren Hastings’_ crew were killed and wounded, and in addition the whole of the port fore shrouds, the foretopsail tie, her chief running gear, her stays and her ensign were cut away and her foremast seriously injured. The ensign, however, was quickly rehoisted at the maintopgallant-masthead. Quickly the Indiaman repaired her damage, but then the frigate having put about astern of the Indiaman began the action a third time, though this did little more damage than crippling the merchant ship’s foremast altogether. Owing to this fact and the heavy sea and high wind the _Warren Hastings_ could carry sail only on her main and mizen masts. The result was that the Frenchman could run round her even more easily than before.