"It is a sad business, very sad, losing all those poor fellows, but I do not blame you, boy, in the least; you did what you could, and did it very well, too!  To fight and beat off so immensely superior a force as that of the pirates was a very creditable feat, I consider; and all might have been well had it not been for that gale springing up at so inopportune a moment.  Well, well, it cannot be helped; these things happen sometimes, in spite of all that we can do.  But there is generally a lesson to be learned from every mishap, if we will but look for it, and the lesson conveyed in this case is that we made a mistake in the arming of the _Wasp_.  Instead of fitting her with those six long 9-pounders, we ought to have mounted a long 18 and a long 32 upon her deck, then you would have been able to play a game of long bowls with the pirates and fight them upon practically equal terms.  As it was, you were badly peppered before you could reach her at all with your own guns.  Well, it cannot now be helped; the little hooker is gone, and there's an end of it.  Now, the thing to consider is what is next to be done.  What is your own idea?  You have been among the rascals, and know their strength; I suppose you have some sort of a notion of how they can best be circumvented, eh?"