e conveyance of booty from Cariacou to such ports as
afforded opportunity for its disposal without the asking of too many
inconvenient questions.

It was the work of but a few minutes for the prize crew to transfer
their few belongings from the schooner to the brig; and, this done, we
got both craft under way and stood out to sea--the brig under every
stitch of canvas that she could show to the breeze, while the schooner,
under topsail, foresail, and jib, had to heave-to at frequent intervals
to wait for her.

My first intention was to send the brig to Port Royal in charge of the
prize crew alone, remaining off the island in the _Tern_ until Morillo
should appear--as he would be certain to do, sooner or later--in his
brigantine. A little reflection, however, caused me to alter my plans
and to determine upon escorting the _Three Sisters_ to her destination,
lest she should haply encounter Morillo on the way, in which case the
fate of her defenceless prize crew would probably be too dreadful to
bear thinking about. As soon, therefore, as we were clear of the
harbour I set the course for Jamaica, and away we both went, cheek by
jowl, the brig--with a roaring breeze over her starboard quarter--
reeling off her six and a half knots per hour with as much fuss and
splutter as though she were going fifteen!

For the first two days nothing of any importance occurred. On the third
night out from Cariacou, however,--or, to be strictly accurate, about
two o'clock in the morning,--it being my watch on deck, the night dark
and somewhat overcast, two sails were sighted on our starboard bow,
heading to the eastward on the port tack, and steering a course which
would bring them close to us. One of them was a craft of considerable
size, the other a small vessel; and from the moment that these two facts
became apparent, I made up my mind that one was the prize of the other,
though which of the two was the captor, there was just then no means of
ascertaining. The smaller craft was perhaps a privateer, and the big
one her prize; or--quite as likely--the big craft might be a frigate,
and the small craft her prize. In either case, however, it behoved me
to be very careful; for one of the two was almost certain to be an
enemy, and if she happened to be also the captor of the other it was
more than probable she would tackle us. From the moment, therefore,
when we first sighted them, I never allowed the night-glass to be off
them for m