r studding-sail booms were buckling
rather ominously. I took my angle again, and, rather to my surprise,
found that we were slightly gaining upon the schooner, while the brig
was fully holding her own with us, if indeed she was not doing something
even better than that. I reported this to the skipper, who seemed to
have made up his mind already as to his course of action; for upon
hearing what I had to say he instantly gave orders for our helm to be
shifted in pursuit of the schooner. Then, seeming suddenly to remember
that it was my watch below, he hailed me, telling me that I might come
down.

Having reached the deck, I at once trotted below to make my preparation
for taking the sun's meridian altitude, for it was now drawing on
towards noon.

When, a little later, I again went on deck, I found that the wind had
continued to freshen, and was now blowing a really strong breeze, while
the sea had wrinkled under the scourging of it to a most beautiful deep
dark-blue tint, liberally dashed with snow-white patches of froth as the
surges curled over and broke in their chase after our flying hull. Our
canvas was now dragging at the spars and sheets like so many teams of
cart-horses, the delicate blue shadows coming and going upon the cream-
white surfaces as the ship rolled with the regularity of a swinging
pendulum. Every inch of our running gear was as taut as a harp-string,
and through it the wind piped and sang as though the whole ship had been
one gigantic musical instrument; while over all arched the blue dome of
an absolutely cloudless sky, in the very zenith of which blazed the sun
with a fierceness that made all of us eager to seek out such small
patches of fugitive shadow as were cast by the straining canvas. The
sun was so nearly vertical that our bulwarks, although they were high,
afforded us no protection whatever from his scorching rays.

The two strange sail were by this time visible from our deck, and it was
apparent that, in the strong breeze which was now blowing, we were
rapidly overhauling the schooner, while the brig was not only holding
her own with us, but had actually increased her distance, as she
gradually hauled to the wind, so as to allow us to run away to leeward
of her.

The pursuit of the schooner lasted all through the afternoon, and it was
close upon sunset when we arrived within range of her, and plumped a
couple of 24-pound shot clean through her mainsail, whereupon her
skipper s