as if he
had been thinking over the matter, "Has it not struck you, Mr Seaworth,
that yonder stranger may have as bad an opinion of us as we have of her;
and that seeing a piccarooning little craft, no offence to the
_Fraulein_, standing towards her, she thought the safest thing she could
do would be to keep out of our way?"

This was one mode of accounting for the flight of the stranger; still I
did not like the idea of giving up the chase. Van Graoul's notion might
be correct; but yet it was possible that she was, after all, the _Emu_.
At last the sun went down; but the night was so clear that we could
still see the chase, and most perseveringly we followed her. The
morning dawned, and there she was just ahead of us; and so well defined
did every spar and sail appear in the clear atmosphere, that I could
scarce persuade myself that she was far beyond the range of our guns.
She had, indeed, rather increased than diminished her distance from us.
At the same rate, unless the breeze failed her, and favoured us, she
must finally escape from us. Approaching the evening, some low wooded
land appeared ahead, towards which she was steering.

"What can she intend to do now?" I asked of Fairburn.

"She intends to run between a number of low coral islands, which form
the land you see ahead, and so expects to escape us," he answered. "The
navigation is very difficult, and very dangerous for a stranger; but Van
Graoul knows them well, and if she goes in we can follow."

"By all means, let us follow them," I exclaimed. "Everything makes me
think that must be the _Emu_."

"I wish that I could be certain," said Fairburn. "We have a longer
cruise before us."

I asked Van Graoul the name of the islets scattered about in a long line
before us.

"They are called the Pater Nosters, because strangers are apt to say
their Pater Nosters when they happen to find themselves among them in
bad weather," he answered.

The day was clear and the sea smooth; but I could suppose that in thick
weather they must be very dangerous. The brig stood boldly on, with all
sail set; and as we saw her, she seemed about to run directly on shore.
Our glasses were continually fixed on her. One moment she was before
us--the next she had disappeared. An exclamation of surprise escaped
from many of the crew.

"Hello! where's the stranger?" cried one.

"Why, if she don't beat the _Flying Dutchman_!" exclaimed another.

"I thought no good of her