way from land; but, situated as
we were, greatly as we admired its beauty, we would rather have
witnessed a sky traversed by fast-flying clouds, and would gladly have
exchanged the tender silence which brooded around us for the singing of
the wind through our rigging and the hissing sound of the rapidly
following surges.

We walked fore and aft on our short deck, one on each side, smoking our
pipes and whistling for a breeze, and pausing occasionally to listen for
the roll of oars in their rowlocks, or their plash in the water; for we
did not know what new trick our neighbour astern might feel disposed to
play us, though we both thought it improbable he would send another boat
away--at all events, whilst we maintained our present distance from him.

He was distinctly visible in the bright moonlight, and of course we kept
a watchful eye upon him; but we could detect no signs aboard of him to
give us any uneasiness.

At length, just about eight bells, as Bob was preparing to go below, I
noticed that the shimmer of the moonbeams, which had hitherto played in
but a few wavering streaks over the surface of the water close to us,
was now revealing itself on the horizon, spreading gradually abroad on
each side of the point at which it had first appeared, and slowly
advancing over the surface of the ocean towards us.

"Here comes the breeze, Bob!" I exclaimed. "Stay on deck a few minutes
longer until we can see what is to be the order of the night. See,
there it comes, away out from the eastward; and the brig is already
squaring away his yards, as though he felt the first faint puffs. Ay,"
continued I, as I took a look at him through the glass, "there go his
stunsail-booms, and there go his stunsails to boot. Now the rascal will
run down to us with the first of the breeze, and perhaps have us under
his guns before we can catch a breath of it. Cast loose this spinnaker-
boom, old man, and let's get it rigged out and the sail set in readiness
for the breeze when it comes. If we can only get it before he comes
within range of us, I believe we can walk away from him even in a run to
leeward, provided we don't have the breeze _too_ strong."

We worked with a will, the reader may be sure, and soon had the huge
sail set on the starboard side, whilst the main-boom was guyed out to
port.

We then went all round the deck, taking a pull at the halliards where
necessary; and then, though a heavy dew was falling, we got up a sm