d, of course, that the craft was honest, and not of a similar
character to the _Francesca_.

As we neared the stranger she proved to be a handsome, full-rigged ship
of about a thousand tons measurement, or thereabouts, and I thought that
she had somewhat of the look of one of the new British clipper Indiamen
that were just at this time beginning to supersede the old-fashioned,
slow, lumbering tubs that had been considered the correct kind of thing
by John Company; if she were, she would probably have a crew strong
enough not only to successfully resist the demands of Mendouca, but also
to protect me, should I be able by any pretext to get on board her. The
difficulty, of course, would be to do this; but if, as I rather
expected, Mendouca should elect to lay the _Francesca_, alongside the
ship and endeavour to carry the latter by a _coup de main_, I would
board with the rest, taking my chance of being run through or shot down
in the attempt, and immediately place myself under the protection of the
stranger's crew. It was of course easy enough to arrange this scheme in
my own mind, but even a very slight deviation on Mendouca's part from
the programme which I expected him to adopt might suffice to nullify it;
nevertheless, it appeared probable that my surmise as to Mendouca's
intentions would prove correct, for if he did not mean to lay the
stranger aboard and carry her with a rush, I could scarcely understand
the boldness with which he was approaching her in broad daylight, with
his strongly-manned sweeps proclaiming to the most unsuspicious eye the
dubious character of the brigantine.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

THE CAPTURE AND PLUNDERING OF THE `BANGALORE,' INDIAMAN.

It was just six bells in the afternoon watch when we at length arrived
within a distance of about half-a-mile of the stranger, which had by
this time been unmistakably made out to be a British passenger ship of
one of the crack lines; first by her having hoisted British colours some
time before, and secondly by the crowd of well-dressed ladies and
gentlemen that, with the aid of the telescope, we could see congregated
on her poop. Mendouca also had hoisted the British ensign, and, to my
supreme indignation, a man-o'-war's pennant, his object in doing so
being, of course, to disarm suspicion as long as possible, and thus
leave the ship only a very brief length of time to prepare for defence
when our intention to attack her became no longer possible of
co