m the deck in the wake of the main rigging.

"What is the latest news of the strangers, Mr Grenvile?" he asked.
"Has the breeze yet reached them?"

"No, sir; not yet," I answered; "but I expect it will in the course of
the next half-hour. They are hull-up from here, sir; and I should think
that you ought to be able to see the mast-heads of the larger craft--the
brig--from the deck, by this time."

Hearing this, the skipper and Mr Fawcett walked forward to the
forecastle, the former levelling the telescope that he carried in his
hand, and pointing it straight ahead. Then, removing the tube from his
eye, the captain handed over the instrument to the second luff, who, in
his turn, took a good long look, and returned the telescope to the
captain. They stood talking together for a minute or two; and then
Captain Bentinck, glancing up at me, hailed.

"Mr Grenvile," said he, "I am about to send this glass up to you by
means of the signal halyards. I want you to keep an eye on those two
craft down there, and report anything particular that you may see going
on; and let me know when the breeze reaches them, and whether they keep
together when it does so."

"Ay, ay, sir!" I answered. And when the telescope came up I made
myself comfortable, feeling quite prepared to remain in the cross-trees
for the rest of the watch.

The breeze, meanwhile, continued steadily to freshen, and when at length
it reached the two strange sail ahead of us we were buzzing along, with
a long, easy, rolling motion over the low swell, at a speed of fully
nine knots, with a school of porpoises gambolling under our bows--each
of them apparently out-vying the others in the attempt to see which of
them could shoot closest athwart our cut-water without being touched by
it--and shoal after shoal of flying-fish sparking out from the bow surge
and streaming away to port and starboard like so many handfuls of bright
new silver coins flung hither and thither by Father Neptune.

As the strangers caught the first of the breeze they squared away before
it; but I presently saw that, instead of steering precisely parallel
courses, as though they intended to continue in each other's company,
they were diverging at an angle of about forty-five degrees, the brig
bringing the wind about two points on her port quarter, while the
schooner, steering a somewhat more northerly course, held it about two
points on her starboard quarter. Thus, while they were running