{"product_id":"2940013580411","title":"The Flag Of Distress","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA CHASE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn mid-ocean--the Pacific.  Two ships within sight of one another, less\u003cbr\u003ethan a league apart.  Both sailing before the wind, running dead down it\u003cbr\u003ewith full canvas spread--not side by side, but one in the wake of the\u003cbr\u003eother.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIs it a chase?  To all appearance, yes; a probability strengthened by\u003cbr\u003ethe relative size and character of the vessels.  One is a barque,\u003cbr\u003epolacca-masted, her masts raking back with the acute shark's-fin set\u003cbr\u003esupposed to be characteristic of piratical craft.  The other is a ship,\u003cbr\u003esquare-rigged and full sized; a row of real, not painted, ports, with a\u003cbr\u003egun grinning out of each, proclaiming her a man-of-war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe is one--a frigate, as any seaman would say, after giving her a\u003cbr\u003eglance.  And any landsman might name her nationality.  The flag at her\u003cbr\u003epeak is one known all over the world: it is the ensign of England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf it be a chase, she is the pursuer.  Her colours might be accepted as\u003cbr\u003esurety of this, without regard to the relative position of the vessels;\u003cbr\u003ewhich show the frigate astern, the polacca leading.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe latter also carries a flag--of nationality not so easily determined.\u003cbr\u003eStill it is the ensign of a naval power, though one of little note.\u003cbr\u003eThe five-pointed white star, solitary in a blue field, proclaims it the\u003cbr\u003estandard of Chili.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy should an English frigate be chasing a Chilian barque?  There is no\u003cbr\u003ewar between Great Britain and this, the most prosperous of the South\u003cbr\u003eAmerican republics; instead, peace-treaties, with relations of the most\u003cbr\u003eamicable kind.  Were the polacca showing colours blood-red, or black,\u003cbr\u003ewith death's-head and cross-bones, the chase would be intelligible.  But\u003cbr\u003ethe bit of bunting at her masthead has nothing on its field either of\u003cbr\u003emenace or defiance.  On the contrary, it appeals to pity, and asks for\u003cbr\u003eaid; for it is an ensign reversed--in short, a _signal of distress_.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd yet the craft so signalling is on the scud before a stiff breeze,\u003cbr\u003ewith all sail set, stays taut, not a rope out of place!","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47177459892464,"sku":"2940013580411","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013580411_p0.jpg?v=1763594022","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013580411","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}