midnight
He shared round the sausages , two to each man , and kept the _ Bean Pheasant _ to her course until the leading frigate fired a shot across her bows , and ran up the red-white-and-blue ; and then , knowing the worst , he rounded-to as meek as a lamb . The long and short of it was that , inside the hour the dozen Frenchmen were free , and Cap'n Jacka and his men in their place , ironed hand and foot ; and the _ Bean Pheasant _ working back to France again with a young gentleman of the French navy aboard in command of her . But 't is better be lucky born , they say , than a rich man 's son . By this time it was blowing pretty well half a gale from sou ' - sou ' - west , and before midnight a proper gale . The _ Bean Pheasant _ being kept head to sea , took it smack-and-smack on the breast-bone , which was her leakiest spot ; and soon , being down by the head , made shocking weather of it . 'T was next door to impossible to work the pump forward . Towards one in the morning old Jacka was rolling about up to his waist as he sat , and trying to comfort himself by singing `` Tho ' troubles assail , '' when the young French gentleman came running with one of his Johnnies and knocked the irons off the English boys , and told them to be brisk and help work the pumps , or the lugger -- that was already hove to -- would go down under them .