of careful merchant skippers, who can't perform that
operation in a hurry. We lost nothing by so doing, as for some hours it
was a stark calm. Tom and Ben Nash were in one watch, Nettleship and I
in another. Night passed quickly away. Towards morning we got a
breeze, and were once more standing on our course. We kept a bright
look-out, not, as we should have liked, to watch for a prize, but to run
away should a suspicious sail be sighted. We kept no colours flying,
for should a Frenchman see us, we might have a better chance of avoiding
an encounter. At daylight, as we had a fair breeze, all sail was again
set, and we stood gaily on our course.

"If this weather holds, we shall be safe at anchor in a couple of days
in Port Royal," said Nettleship.

"A sail ahead!" shouted the look-out, from aloft.

"We must continue on our course till we see what she is," said
Nettleship.

Tom Pim, who went aloft to have a look at her, on his return said that
she was a brig, standing to the westward, but too far off at the time to
judge of her size. She appeared to be almost becalmed, while we,
carrying the breeze along with us, rapidly neared her. At length we
could see her clearly from the deck.

"She has hoisted her colours," observed Nettleship. "Though from the
cut of her canvas she's English, as far as I can make out, her flag is
French."

We had not yet hoisted our colours; indeed, as we were standing, the
Frenchman could not have seen them even if we had.

"There's no doubt about the flag," observed Tom, who had taken the
glass; "that is French, though she's an English merchantman, if I ever
saw one. The people on board her recognise this ship as one of their
own cruisers, and take us for a friend."

"I believe you're right, Tom," said Nettleship, "and we'll not undeceive
them."

The stranger, having now got a breeze, hove-to, apparently wishing to
speak us. We had to luff up a little to reach her.

"Hoist the French ensign," said Nettleship to me; and I ran it up to the
peak.

As we got nearer it became necessary to shorten sail, that we might
lower a boat to send on board and take possession, should it be found
that the brig had been captured by the French. Whether or not it was
from the slow way in which we performed the operation, the suspicions of
the Frenchmen were aroused, and putting up their helm, they filled their
sails and ran off before the wind. We immediately let fall our courses,
and h