the course she was steering, that she had no slaves on board,
and the chances were even that we should find nothing else on board her
sufficiently compromising to secure her condemnation by the Mixed
Commission. Ryan, on the other hand, could not make up his mind to let
the chance go by of making two prizes instead of one.

"`A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, Harry, me bhoy,'" he remarked
to me as we stood together near the binnacle, watching the approach of
the brig, which was now foaming along not a quarter of a mile away from
us; "and I look upon that brig as being quite as much in our hand as
though you and I stood upon her quarter-deck, with all her crew safe
under hatches. Steady there!" he continued, to the man at the tiller;
"mind your weather-helm, my man, or you'll be having that mainsail
jibing over, and I need not tell you what _that_ means in a breeze like
this. Don't meet her quite so sharply; if she seems inclined to take a
sheer to starboard, let her go; I will take care that the brig does not
run over us. Just look at her," he went on, turning again to me, "isn't
she a beauty? Why, she's almost as handsome, and as big too, as the
_Mercedes_! D'ye mean to tell me that such a hull as that would ever be
employed in the humdrum trade of carrying palm-oil? Why, it would be
nothing short of a waste of skilful modelling! No, _sorr_, she was
built for a slaver, and a slaver she is, or I'll eat this hat of mine,
puggaree and all, for breakfast!"

"I grant all that you say," admitted I, "but if she has nothing
incriminating on board her, what then? We shall only be wasting our
time by boarding her, while we shall certainly give the alarm to the
barque yonder, and, as likely as not, lose her for our pains."

Ryan took a good long look at the barque, that was now about two points
before our larboard beam, and some six miles distant, thrashing along in
a style that did one's heart good to see, and plunging into the heavy
head-sea, against which she was beating until her foresail was dark with
wet half-way up the weather-leech, and the spray was flying clean over
her, and drifting away like smoke to leeward. Then he turned and looked
at the brig on our opposite quarter.

"It's risky," he remarked to me through his set teeth, "but, by the
powers, I'll chance it! If we happen to be mistaken, why, I'll make the
skipper a handsome apology; if he's a true man, that ought to satisfy
him. Mr Bartlett"