The EIC Commodore , James Farquharson , captain of , knew Know that if he fled Escaping the French would rapidly overwhelm Destroying his ships so he decided Deciding to try a bluff .

By not being able to keep Preventing_or_letting pace with the disease 's rate of spread , a new catastrophic contingency emerges Coming_to_be in which massive civilian casualties would overwhelm America 's emergency response capabilities .

This frigate , HMS `` Amethyst '' chased Motion `` Thétis '' and brought Bringing her to battle Hostile_encounter , closing Openness with the French ship but preventing Preventing_or_letting the soldiers aboard `` Thétis '' from boarding Temporary_stay the British ship and using Using their superior numbers to overwhelm Destroying her with heavy and accurate gunfire Use_firearm .