_Vestale_ or the
_Black Venus_--sailed first from the river?"

"Wall, stranger, I'd like to help you all I could, I really would; but,"
with his hand wandering thoughtfully over his forehead, "I really
_can't_ for the life of me remember just now which of 'em it was."

The fellow was lying; I could see it, and so could Smellie; but we could
not, of course, tell him so; and we accordingly thanked him for his
information and rose to go, with an uncomfortable feeling that we had
received certain information, part of which was probably true whilst
part was undoubtedly false, and that we were wholly without the means of
distinguishing the one from the other.

We returned to the _Daphne_ with our information, such as it was; and
Smellie at once made his report to the skipper. A consultation followed
in which the first lieutenant took part, and at the end of half an hour
the three officers reappeared on deck, and the captain's gig was piped
away.

Being suspicious, as I have already remarked, that something unusual was
brewing, I remained on deck during the progress of this conference, so
as to be at hand in the event of my services being required; and the
_Pensacola_ happening to be the most prominent object in the landscape,
she naturally came in for a large share of my attention during the
progress of the discussion above referred to. She was flying no colours
when we anchored in such close proximity to her, a circumstance which I
attributed to the fact that she was, to all appearance, the only vessel
in the river, and I was, therefore, not much surprised when, a short
time after our visit to her, I observed her skipper go aft and run up
the American ensign to his gaff-end. But I _was_ a little surprised
when he followed this up by hoisting a small red swallow-tailed flag to
his main-royal-mast-head. I asked myself what could be the meaning of
this move on his part, and it did not take me very long to arrive at the
conclusion that it was undoubtedly meant as a signal of some sort to
somebody or other. He was scarcely likely to do such a thing for the
gratification of a mere whim. And if it was a signal, what did it
mean's and to whom was it made? There was of course the possibility
that it was a prearranged signal to his absent mate; but, taken in
conjunction with the fact that it was exhibited almost immediately after
our visit to his ship, coupled with the other fact of his obvious
attempt to keep us in the dar