Toward night the wind moderated. The North Sea was full of merchant ships, and the Bon Homme Richard, as well as the Pallas, cruised back and forth, taking and sinking a number of colliers. This, however, was not the sort of enterprise that suited Paul Jones’s daring spirit. He proposed several adventurous plans to the French captains, but could not win their co-operation. They were brave men, but more prudent than enterprising, and they had not the personal knowledge of Paul Jones’s powers and resource to take the risks he proposed. There was a large fleet of merchant ships lying in the Humber, which Paul Jones wished to entice into the open roads. The Bon Homme Richard went off before the wind, and returned wearing British colors, hoping that a certain ship which carried a pendant at her masthead was a ship of war, and would fight. This ship, though, kept to the windward and near dangerous shoals, so that the Bon Homme Richard could not approach with safety.
In order to learn some news of what was being done in the way of preparations to meet him, Paul Jones boldly hoisted a signal for a pilot. Two pilot boats, supposing the Bon Homme Richard to be a British cruiser, responded. There was great eagerness between the pilot boats as to which should be taken on board. Lieutenant Dale, under Paul Jones’s orders, took them both on board, in order to learn everything possible about the state of affairs along the coast. Presently Paul Jones, in his undress uniform, which greatly resembled the British uniform, except that he wore a Scotch bonnet of blue cloth bound with gold, strolled along the deck, and, seeing young Dale in conversation with the pilots, joined him.
“Have you heard anything of Paul Jones and his ship, my good man?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” responded both pilots in a breath, and one of them continued:
“That ’ere ship yonder,” pointing to the vessel wearing a pendant, and which was still near the entrance to the Humber River, “she is a armed merchantman—”
“And,” broke in the other, anxious to contribute his quota, “there’s a king’s frigate layin’ at anchor up the river, a-waitin’ for news o’ that impudent rebel ship o’ Paul Jones’s to take her and sink her. I piloted the frigate in, and they’ve give us a private signal for all ships while the rebel ship is in these waters.”