care
a cent, as soon as they know it's only a sea dodge to get into port
with."

Sailor-like, they were indeed easily satisfied with whatever the captain
chose to tell them, and on went the _Goshawk_ as a British craft, but
she was nevertheless carrying supplies to the Mexican army.

Senor Zuroaga had brought up a double spy-glass of his own, and, after
studying the stranger through it, he handed it to Ned, remarking:

"Take a look at her. She's a beauty. She is drawing nearer on this tack,
but nobody knows yet whether she can outrun us or not."

Ned took the glass with an unexpected feeling growing within him that he
hoped she could not do so. He did not wish to be caught on board a
British vessel taking powder and shot to kill Americans with. As he put
the glass to his eyes, however, the sloop-of-war appeared to have
suddenly come nearer. It was as if the _Goshawk_ were already within
reach of her guns, and she became a dangerous thing to look at. She was
not, as yet, under any great press of canvas, for her commander may not
have imagined that any merchant vessel would try to get away from him.
There were two things, however, about which nobody on board the
_Goshawk_ was thinking. The first was that, while the American
ship-of-war captain had not heard the firing at the fort on the Rio
Grande, he was under a strong impression that war had been declared. The
other thing came out in a remark which he made to a junior officer
standing by him.

"It won't do!" he declared, emphatically. "I don't at all like that
change of flags. It means mischief. There is something suspicious about
that craft. We must bring her to, and find out what's the matter with
her."

The distance between the two vessels was still too great for anything
but a few signals, to which Captain Kemp responded with others which may
have been of his own invention, for the signal officer on board the
Yankee cruiser could make nothing of them. The _Goshhawk_, moreover, did
not shorten sail, and her steersman kept her away several points more
southerly, instead of bringing her course nearer to that of the cruiser.

"I see!" said her captain, as he watched the change. "She means to get
away from us. It won't do. As soon as we are within range, I'll give
her a gun. She may be a Mexican privateer, for all I know."

At all events, under the circumstances, as he thought, the change of
flags had made it his duty to inquire into her character, and he decid