Summary: Period: Early 1800’s Setting: Napoleonic wars at sea. By William Hope Hodgeson Read by Kevin Harty Read full text Captain Drool and the two mates sat in the cabin and argued, gross and uncouth; but Monsieur Jeynois said nothing. Only smoked his long pipe and listened, while the bosun held the poop deck! I had grown to like Monsieur J eynois, for the brave, quiet way of him, and the calm speech that seemed so strong and wise against the rude blusterings and oathings of the captain and the mates. The Saucy Lady was a private venture ship - in other words, an English privateer - at the time of the French war. She had been a French brig, named La Gavotte, and had been sold at Portsmouth for prize-money. Monsieur Jeynois and Captain Drool had bought her, and fitted her out against the French, with six twenty-four-pounder cannonades a side, and two long eighteen-pounders - the one mounted aft and the other for'ard, for chasers. The brig was a matter of 350 tons burthen, and sailed very fast, and made good weather of it.
