rds!" he now sung out; and the foretack was
boarded while the main-sheet was hauled aft, we on the poop swinging the
cross-jack yard at the same time, the captain then calling out to the
helmsman sharply, "Luff, you beggar, luff, can't ye!"

And now, hauled up as close as we could be, the ship headed towards the
strangers; steering back in the direction of Banca again as near to
windward as she could forereach.

It was "like trying to catch a weasel asleep and shave his whiskers,"
however, to use Tom Jerrold's words; for the moment the proa and her
consort observed our manoeuvre and saw that we were making for them,
round they went too like tops, and sailing right up in the wind's eye,
all idea of pursuit on our part was put entirely out of question within
the short space of five minutes or so--the Malay craft showing that they
had the power when they chose to exercise it of going two knots to our
one.

"Begorra, I'd loike to have a slap at 'em with a long thirty-two, or
aven a blissid noine-pounder Armstrong," cried Tim Rooney, as vexed as
"Old Jock" was at the result of this testing of the Silver Queen with
her lighter heeled rivals to windward. "I'd soon knock 'em into
shavin's, by the howly poker, I wud!"

"It's no good, as you said," sniffed out the captain, with a sigh to Mr
Mackay, evidently cordially echoing the boatswain's wish, which he must
have heard as well as I did, for he stood just to leeward of him.
"Ready about again, stand by, men!"

And then, our previous movement was repeated and the ship brought round
once more on the port tack, heading for Pulo Sapata to the northwards--
the name of this place, I may say, is derived from two Malay words, the
one pulo meaning "island" and the other sapatu "shoe," and the entire
compound word, consequently, "Shoe Island," or the island of the shape
of one.

We did not see anything more of the suspicious craft that day; so we all
believed that our feint of overhauling them had effectually scared them
away, Tom Jerrold and I especially being impressed with this idea,
attaching a good deal of importance to the talk we had overheard between
Rooney and Adams, Tom being in his bunk close by the boatswain's cabin
at the time when I was outside listening to the two old tars as they
confabbed together.

Weeks, though, was of a contrary opinion, and Master Sammy could be very
dogged if he pleased on any point.

"I'll tell you what, my boys," said he, with some trac