ere until close upon eight bells in the
afternoon watch; and when at length he came off, he looked uncommonly
pleased with himself. I saw him talking animatedly with the first
lieutenant for some time, and then he beckoned to me.

"I suppose, Mr Fortescue," he said, when I joined him, "you will not
have very much difficulty in identifying the _Virginia_ should we be
lucky enough to fall in with her?"

"None at all, sir," answered I. "I believe I should be able to identify
her as far as I could see her. I boarded her, you will remember, and I
took full advantage of the opportunity to use my eyes. Oh, yes, I shall
know her if ever I clap eyes on her again."

"Which will be before very long, I hope," answered the skipper. "For by
a most lucky chance I have to-day obtained what I believe to be
trustworthy information to the effect that she was sighted four days
ago, bound for the Gaboon river--or perhaps it would be more correct to
say that she was sighted steering east, and identified by the master of
a brig who knows her perfectly well, and who has since arrived here, and
that there is authentic information to the effect that she is this time
bound for the Gaboon."

"In that case, sir," said I, "there ought not to be very much difficulty
in falling in with her when she comes out."

"That is what I think," returned the skipper. "Are we quite ready to go
to sea, Mr Hoskins?"

"Absolutely, sir, at a moment's notice," answered Hoskins.

"Very well, then, we will weigh as soon as the land-breeze springs up,"
said the skipper.

And weigh we did, a little after seven o'clock that evening, securing a
good offing, and clearing the shoals of Saint Ann by daybreak the next
morning. We knew that it was customary for the slavers coming out of
the Gulf of Guinea to endeavour to sight Cape Palmas, in order that they
might obtain a good "departure" for the run across the Atlantic, also
because they might usually reckon upon picking up the Trades somewhere
in that neighbourhood. The skipper therefore carefully laid down upon
his chart the supposititious course of the _Virginia_ from the Gaboon to
Cape Palmas, and thence onward to the Caribbean Sea; and then shaped a
course to enable us to fall in with her on the latter, at a spot about
one hundred miles to the westward of Palmas. Having reached this spot,
we shortened sail to our three topsails, spanker, and jib, and slowly
worked to windward along that course, tacking e