A little before noon next morning four strange sails were seen in the offing, which, before long, were made out to be the dreaded Madagascar pirates, with the _Cassandra_, _Victory_, and two prizes they had just taken. The sight of them struck Brown with terror, though a little reflection would have shown him that the pirates would have little or no inducement to attack armed ships carrying no valuable merchandise. He directed his whole squadron to anchor off Gheriah, which must have appeared puzzling to his late antagonists in that place. Hoping to evade the pirate ships, anchor was weighed in the night, and the squadron sailed northward, no order being preserved, and the fleet getting much scattered.
As it happened, the pirates had mistaken them for Angria's fleet, and were standing to the northward in search of prey, without any thought of attacking them. Without any hostile intention on either side, the two squadrons became intermingled. While it was still dark, the party on the _London_ was startled by a cannon shot flying over them, and in the faint morning light they saw a large ship on their quarter. On hailing to ask her name, an answer came back that it was the _Victory_. Brown preferred to believe that it was his own ship of that name; but his answering hail, giving the name of the _London_, was replied to with a broadside, to which a smart fire was returned by the _Revenge_ and the _Defiance_, that were close astern. On both sides there was no willingness to fight. The pirates were at first seized with consternation at discovering their mistake; they had turned their prizes adrift after throwing their sails overboard, and, with only three hundred men for their joint crews, forty of them negroes, were not strong enough to engage the Bombay squadron. But England was a man who preferred fighting to running, so putting a bold face on the matter, the _Cassandra_ ran through the fleet, firing into the _Victory_, the _Chandos_, and the _Phram_. The _Chandos_, which was towing the _Phram_, at once cast it loose. The fleet scattered in all directions, like a flock of sheep when a strange dog runs through it. Upton, of the _London_, a chicken-hearted fellow, persuaded Brown that they ought not to engage, as Boone had sent them to attack Gheriah, but had given them no instructions about the Madagascar pirates. Brown seemingly did not want much persuading, and crowded all sail to escape; at the same time striking his flag to show that he did not intend fighting, which excited the indignation of his own sailors and the derision of the pirates. He next sent orders by a gallivat for the _Phram_ to be burned, and thus that useless machine, from which so much had been expected; and that had cost so much money and labour, came to an end.