und to Leghorn, first, and then she was
going to Java and Manila. And, in the middle of the forenoon of that
day, the lookout in the crosstrees of the _Industry_ reported a sail
heading directly for them.

Captain Sol was worried about it and asked the sailor about the rig of
the vessel. And the sailor said that he couldn't tell what her rig was
because he couldn't see any more than her upper sails, and not much of
them; but she seemed to be a brig, and he thought she was fast, by the
way she was rising. He thought he should be able to see her hull in less
than half an hour.

Captain Sol said a bad word and took his glass and went up to the
crosstrees himself. But he couldn't see enough, there, so he went on, up
the mast. And he rested the glass against the rigging and looked. It
took him a long time to see anything, the rigging jumped around so; but
at last he managed to see. And he came down quickly and spoke to the man
at the wheel, who looked at him as if he expected some orders.

"Keep her as she goes," he said. "It won't do any good to try to run
away from that vessel. She can sail three feet to our two. And, whoever
she is, she has no business with us, anyway."

But Captain Sol knew that it would make very little difference whether
she had any right to stop them or not. If her captain wanted to he
would. And the mates knew that, and the sailors knew it. So Captain Sol
ordered one of the sailors to hoist the United States flag, and he kept
on.

[Illustration: "THAT WAS A SIGNAL FOR THE _Industry_ TO STOP"]

The brig kept rising fast and, in a short time, they could see her hull
from the deck of the _Industry_. They saw that she was a Spanish
privateer; and she hoisted the Spanish flag and kept on. And, pretty
soon, she was nearly abreast of the _Industry_; and she turned a
little, and there was a little puff of smoke from her side, and the
sound of the report came over the water a second or two later.

That was a signal for the _Industry_ to stop. But the _Industry_ seemed
to have grown deaf, and she didn't stop, and no sailor made a move to
touch a rope. And the Spanish brig seemed to be a little angry, and she
turned again and there was a bigger puff of smoke from her side and a
cannon ball came skipping across the water, ahead of the _Industry_.
That was a hint that she had better stop, if she knew what was good for
her. But Captain Sol only had another United States flag hoisted, and it
was a bigger fl