igate, like a
startled sea-bird, speeding down-wind upon the wings of the squall,
enveloped in a sheet of rain that was more than half salt water, with
the lightning flickering and darting all round her, and the thunder
crashing overhead in a continuous booming roar.

The squall lasted very nearly three-quarters of an hour; but long before
that time had elapsed the weather ahead had cleared sufficiently to
enable us again to catch sight of the brigantine, now about two points
on our starboard-bow, running dead before it, like ourselves, under
nothing but a close-reefed topsail and reefed foresail. She was still
maintaining her distance from us in the most wonderful manner; but was
now--possibly in consequence of having been compelled by the squall to
bear up--steering as though to enter the Gulf of Venezuela. We
contrived to gain a little upon her by carefully watching our
opportunities and making sail by degrees as the squall blew itself out;
but in that respect her people were fully as wide awake as we were, and
made sail with a boldness and rapidity which most conclusively proved
that she was very strongly manned, and, therefore, not in the least
likely to be the harmless, innocent trader that they would doubtless
have liked to persuade us she was. She was hugging the land so closely
that some of us were of opinion that her skipper intended to run her
ashore and take to his boats if it should prove impossible to avoid
capture in any other way; but the Captain did not believe this, and the
master also seemed to be of his opinion.

"His object," said Trimble, "is undoubtedly to get round Point Espada
and fairly into the Gulf. If he can succeed in that, there are plenty
of little coves, especially along the western shore, in which he might
anchor and, sheltered from our guns, bid defiance to a boat attack."

"Ah!" observed the skipper, with much meaning. "Well, we shall see. It
is perfectly evident that he is anxious to keep out of our clutches,
which desire argues a guilty conscience on his part, and only makes me
the more determined to overhaul him. Confound it, here comes the rain
again! Mr Gascoigne, have the goodness to slip into my cabin and
desire my steward to bring my oilskins on deck. Or, stay, the fellow
will have turned-in by this time; I will get them myself."

The rain came swooping down upon us with the tail-end of the squall, and
for a quarter of an hour it was so thick that we could see noth