he vessel floated, a mere dot it seemed in the infinity of space.
Had I been free from anxiety, the life I spent on board the _Fraulein_
would have been most delightful; but my mind was always dwelling on Eva,
and thinking how she was situated; and my anxiety to rescue her
prevented me from enjoying the present.

We had been two weeks at sea, having experienced chiefly calms and light
winds, when one morning at daybreak, while on the right of the island of
Lombok, the lofty cone of its volcano rising blue and distinct against
the sky, a square-rigged vessel was descried in the north-east quarter.
She was apparently standing on a bowline to the southward, so that, by
continuing our course, we should just contrive to get near enough to
speak her. There was considerable excitement on board, for we had not
spoken any vessel since we were out. She might give us some information
respecting the _Emu_; or it was just possible that she might be the
_Emu_ herself. We stood on till we made her to be a low black brig,
with a somewhat rakish appearance. This answered the description of the
_Emu_. We had now to consider how to approach the stranger without
exciting her suspicions. We first hoisted the Dutch ensign, and out
flew, in return from her peak, the stars and stripes of the United
States.

"He is not afraid of showing his colours," said Van Graoul, looking at
the brig through his glass. "But ah! see there! He does not like our
look. He has put his helm up, and away he goes before the wind."

So it was. The stranger altered her course, and away she stood to the
eastward, pretty briskly setting her studding-sails and royals; by which
we calculated that she had a good many hands on board. This behaviour
of the stranger increased our suspicions of her character; and we
accordingly made all sail in chase. We were now to try the speed of the
little _Fraulein_. The breeze freshened, and away she flew over the
water; but the brig was much larger, and soon showed us that she had a
fast pair of heels. Do all we could, indeed, we could only continue to
hold our own with her. Sometimes we even fancied that she was
distancing us, and then after an hour had passed, we did not appear to
have sunk her hull in the water.

"Oh that we could but come up with her!" I exclaimed. "My sweet little
Eva, we would soon liberate you from the power of these ruffians."

Van Graoul had his eyes upon the brig, as he said quite calmly,