d on that,
and may have as fast a pair of heels as our enemy."

We turned our eyes anxiously at the vessel astern. It was possible that
those on board might not suspect who we were, and that she might be only
sailing down the river without the intention of chasing us. Still,
should she come up with the _Good Hope_, they would certainly send on
board and discover that we were foreigners, who had, according to their
notions, no business to be in the Orinoco.

At length we saw a light wind was playing across the stream, and our
sails were rigged out. It came right aft. Away we flew, the canvas of
the Spaniard filling at the same time. On and on we sped, but the
Spaniard seemed to move through the water fully as fast. Kallolo now
told us how, after having had a successful hunt, he and his companions
were returning on the previous evening, expecting to get on board before
nightfall, when they found themselves on the opposite side of the bay.
Suddenly a party of white men, whom they took to be hunters, sprang out
on them and made them prisoners. The strangers had seen the _Good
Hope_, and had managed to draw from them the information that those on
board were English and Dutch. On hearing this, their captors had
despatched two of their party up the river, where a Spanish guardacosta
lay at anchor. They pretended to be very indifferent as to what had
happened; and the Spaniards, who in reality belonged to the vessel, were
thrown off their guard. During the night Kallolo and his companions
managed to make their escape, and finding no canoe in which to cross the
bay, had hastened round by the shore to warn us of our danger. It was
now clear that the Spanish vessel was following us with hostile
intentions, and that should she overtake us we might suffer the fate we
apprehended.

But "a stern chase is a long chase," and the _Good Hope_ proved herself
a fast little craft. As she drew but a few feet of water, we were able
to keep a straight course, whereas the larger vessel had to deviate from
hers several times; thus by nightfall we had drawn considerably ahead.

On the previous night we had slept but little; this night not one of us
closed our eyes. We could just see the lofty sails of the Spaniard
gliding after us like some ferocious giant eager for our destruction.
The wind increased, and she was evidently making more rapid way. On and
on she came. Presently the loud sound of a piece of ordnance boomed
through