bled to retain every breath of air that might come along.
By the time that this was done the first cat's-paws of the approaching
breeze were playing around us, distending our lighter sails for a moment
or two, and then dying away again. But light and evanescent as these
cat's-paws were, they were sufficient to get the brig round with her
jib-boom pointing straight for the chase once more; and a minute or two
later the first of the true breeze reached us, and we began to glide
slowly ahead before it, with squared yards. The men were still kept
busy with the buckets, however, for, in order that the sails should be
of any real service to us, it was necessary to keep them thoroughly wet,
and this involved the continuous drawing and hoisting aloft of water,
for the sun's rays were so intensely ardent that the water evaporated
almost as rapidly as it was thrown upon the canvas.

The breeze came down very slowly, and seemed very loath to freshen; but
this, tantalising though it was to us, was all in our favour, for we
thus practically carried the breeze down with us, while the two strange
sail away in the western board remained completely becalmed. Of this
latter fact I soon had most satisfactory evidence, for, without having
recourse at all to my sextant, I was enabled, in that atmosphere of
crystalline clearness, to see with the naked eye that we were steadily
raising them, an hour's sailing having brought the bulwark rail of both
craft flush with the horizon at my point of observation. By this time,
however, the breeze had slid some three miles ahead of us, its margin,
where it met and overran the glassy surface of the becalmed sea ahead,
being very distinctly visible. At last, too, the wind was manifesting
some slight tendency to freshen, for, looking aft, I saw that all our
after canvas, even to the heavy mainsail which was hanging in its
brails, was swelling out and drawing bravely, while the little streak of
froth and foam-bells that gathered under our sharp bows, and went
sliding and softly seething aft into our wake, told me that we were
slipping through the water at a good honest six-knot pace. With this
most welcome freshening of the wind the necessity to keep the canvas
continuously wet came to an end; and the men, glad of the relief, were
called down on deck to clean up the mess made by the lavish use of the
water.

Another half-hour passed, and the strange craft were hull-up, when the
captain hailed me fro