n we will edge away after her."

Presently eight bells struck, and Hoskins came up to relieve me,
whereupon I made another journey aloft, to the fore-topmast cross-trees
this time. We were raising her very fast now that both ships were
steering upon converging lines; I could already see nearly to the foot
of her topsails; and I settled myself comfortably, determined to remain
where I was until I could absolutely identify her, although even at this
time I had scarcely a shadow of a doubt that it was the long-sought
_Virginia_, or rather the _Preciosa_, that I held in the field of my
telescope. Another twenty minutes and she was hull-up from my point of
observation, by which time there was no further room for doubt, and I
descended to the deck to acquaint the captain with the success of his
strategy. She was by this time dead ahead of us; and the skipper
thereupon gave orders to bear away four points and set the larboard
studdingsails; at the same time instructing the look-out to give us
instant warning of any change in the stranger's course or amount of sail
set.

Both ships were now travelling very fast; and by the time that we had
got our studdingsails set, the stranger was visible from our poop for
about half-way down her topsails, and rising higher even as we watched.
In a few minutes more we had lifted the heads of her courses above the
horizon, still edging away and keeping her about four points on our port
bow; and presently, as we watched her, we saw the Stars and Stripes go
soaring up to her gaff-end. Not to be outdone in politeness, we hoisted
our colours also; and for the next quarter of an hour the two craft
continued to close, the chase stolidly maintaining her course, while we,
under the skipper's skilful conning, continued to edge very gradually
away, as the other vessel sped to leeward, checking our weather braces
by a few inches at a time until our yards were all but square. At
length, when we had brought the chase fairly hull-up it became apparent
that, thanks to the pains taken by the skipper to improve our rate of
sailing, the _Eros_ was now a trifle the faster vessel of the two; and
that, consequently, nothing short of an accident could prevent us from
getting alongside the chase. Still, at sea there is always the
possibility of an accident, therefore as soon as we were near enough the
captain gave orders to clear away the bow gun and pitch a shot across
the fellow's forefoot, as a hint that w