Everyone was startled by the loud noise, including Captain Morrell, who was about to cut the cable. They turned their heads to see that the British ship was already shrouded in a white mist.

"What's going on?" Morel thought.

However, he did not slow down in his hand, and when he got up and down with his axe, he cut the cable. The fallen mast drifted away along the waves. The clipper boat has regained momentum, and although the speed has dropped further than before, it can be moved, right?

Morel didn't care what was wrong with the British ship. Anyway, as long as something goes wrong with them, it's a good thing. As for what it was, at least it had to be out of the range of the British's artillery.

The clipper slowly moved away from the English ship at an anxiously slow speed, which had not fired a cannon in the process, and at the same time began to slow down rapidly, and the white fog that had surrounded it gradually dispersed. It can be seen that the shipbuilding has collapsed in half, the mast has also broken, and the paddle wheels on both sides of the ship have stopped rotating. The British ship was still moving, but it was all due to inertia and currents.

"What happened to that boat?" Leckler asked.

"How do I know? All in all a good thing! Morrell said.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Look first, don't come closer." "Maybe you'll eat the shells in the past." God has blessed us once. I don't want to trouble his old man anymore. ”

"It makes sense, if it weren't for God's blessing this time...... But God and his old man are naughty enough to let them break our masts before their ship goes into trouble. I was scared to death. "A sailor.

"What nonsense are you talking about? When you get off the boat, you must go to church to apologize to God and ask for forgiveness! Morel hurried.

"I know, I know, God the old man is the most merciful, my former captain said that we are all children of God, and whatever we do, God will forgive us."

"So your captain went to God and asked Him to forgive you for being pirates?" Leckler laughed.

"Yes, you see, God has forgiven me and given me a way to mend my ways." "I suppose there must have been a guy on that boat who was praying to God just now, asking God to help them break our mast." And his prayers must have been very sincere, just like ours. Therefore God could not fail to satisfy them, and let them break our masts first, and satisfy them; And then let them explode and save us. God is so merciful, Amen! ”

"Amen!" So everyone said together.

At this time, the British ship gradually stopped. Floats on the surface of the water, like a dead fish.

"Hey, captain, if we can tow this boat back, we'll definitely make a lot of money, and we'll all be back this time." Laker Road.

"Don't rush, take a look first, wait and then talk." Captain Morel said, "Anyway, now it can't move." ”

"Yes, there can be no hurry, my previous captain said that before getting on another boat, you must first pray and repent to the merciful God." The sailor interjected.

"Very well, Louis, pray to God first, and in a moment we will lay down the boat, and you will get on the boat and take them prisoner." Captain Morel said.

"Okay...... Wait a minute...... Captain...... You're not going to leave me alone, are you? It's ...... on that boat."

"Don't worry, child, God is with you." Captain Morel said.

"But ......"

"Don't be, you're the only one of us who has this experience. Didn't you often say before that you were alone with a scimitar and cut down the stern all the way from the bow of the ship? There had just been an explosion on that ship, and most of the sailors on board had been wounded, and with God's blessing, you would have done it! We all believe in you! Leckler also said seriously

"Captain ......"

"Okay, I'm not going to laugh with you." Captain Morel said, "We've moved away from the course during the chase, and there won't be ships passing here. They're not motivated now - I don't think they're going to fix that. And their masts are also broken. They can only drift on the currents. But the direction of the currents will only keep them farther and farther away from land and shipping routes. If we had just gone like this, they would have drifted on this sea and would have almost died. So, as long as they still have a little brain, to make them surrender, it is indeed enough for you alone. ”

"And what if they don't have brains?"

"Then you're dead. But because of this, we can only let you go alone. Louis, if you dare to go, I will give you fifteen francs. ”

"Thirty francs!"

"Twenty, twenty at most! No matter how high it is, Leckler will definitely be willing to go. ”

"Well, twenty is twenty ......"

Just as Leckler had predicted, the ship had been badly damaged in the explosion, their captain had been scalded to death by the hot steam, seven or eight of the other sailors had died, and the remaining dozens of people had been injured to varying degrees. At least a third of them, because the injuries were too severe, the final outcome is estimated to be thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

The Britons on board knew that if the Frenchmen turned around and walked away without power, they would all be dead. So they surrendered to the French under the leadership of one of the ship's lieutenants.

In order to ensure the safety of the French, the British took the initiative to hand over other weapons - guns, small melons and so on under the supervision of French sailors. The French got on board and examined the boat up and down to see if it could be towed back.

It seems that although the explosion just caused a lot of damage, the hull of the ship was not damaged, and the ship did not appear to be flooded, and it seems that there is a considerable possibility that it will be able to be towed back. So they bundled up the Britons who looked like they should still be alive, sent them back to the shearboats, and put them in the empty holds. Finally, the British boat was dragged behind by a cable and turned around in the direction of France.

Along the way, Morel and Leckler counted all the way to see if they had made or lost money on this trip.

"We lost all the goods, and according to the contract we were going to ...... Well, how many guns were there on that British ship? Morel asked.

"Two 24-pounder cannons. Four 12-pounder cannons. ”

"So little?"

"The two paddle wheels on that ship blocked the boss, so that no artillery could be placed there, plus the space occupied by the power compartment and the coal tank, so there was not much room for many cannons." "They're going to deal with us anyway, and we don't even have artillery." And those cannons are iron cannons. You say if the bronze cannon would be better, then we will really make a lot of money. ”

Compared to bronze cannons, cast iron cannons are much cheaper.

"Well, don't be greedy. God has taken great care of us. Even if you don't count these cannons, just the hull of the ship, it will be enough to compensate us for our losses. After all, the ship didn't hurt the keel, and it should still be useful to repair it. Well, and that nautical record, and that technician with a scald leg, they should all be worth a lot of money. Well, talk to our doctor and tell him to find a way to save the technician's life. Because his life may be worth a lot. ”

If it was normal, it would not take them more than two days to return to Roscoff from where they are now. But now their ship has lost a mast, which makes them have a lot less sails to hang out, and almost a third of the power. And behind them, there was a boat dragging bigger than them. Immediately, their speed dropped to about a third of what it was.

At this speed, if they encountered a British patrol boat, they would really have to lose the capture behind them and flee for their lives. Considering that they were missing a mast, it would not be particularly easy for them to escape the British patrol ships, even if they lost the capture behind them.

Most of the smuggling ships going to Ireland today have Roscoff as their home port, and Morrell's ship is no exception. But because of this, there are quite a few British patrol ships in that area. So after consulting with the first mate, Leckler, they decided to choose a safe route and make a big circle at sea to Kamalai.

But such a shipping arrangement means that they have to sail at sea for a longer time. They didn't really have much supplies on board. It wasn't too far from Roscoff to Ireland, and the clippers were fast, so there was no need to bring too many supplies. In addition, the cargo hold on the clipper ship is also smaller than other ships of the same weight, and the cargo hold is already limited, and every little more supplies it carries means less cargo.

As for the British, the British had fewer supplies on their ship, for although the British had more men on board, they had no intention of going far from Ireland. So, if you want to take a detour, what you eat and drink becomes a big problem.

"The good thing is that the English ship is steam-powered, and it has to boil water. Their boiler blew up though. But there's still a lot of fresh water left. Fresh water on the way back should still be enough. As for the rest, it's not quite enough. ”

"Then let's get rid of that...... What's that called a British technician? Morel asked.

"It's called Anderson." Lechler added.

"Well, except for that Anderson, the rest of the British's rations were reduced to one loaf of bread every two days." "Also, don't waste fresh water and food on the seriously wounded in Britain," Morel said. Our people's rations have also been reduced to half of what they were. That Anderson can't die, the steam engine on that ship has been blown up, maybe the guys from the military-industrial complex are willing to give us more money for this technician. ”

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