"Where away?" demanded the Captain.

"Two points off the lee bow."

The captain walked forward to the forecastle, from where he descried
what appeared to be a large square-rigged vessel standing directly for
them, with her port-tacks aboard. This seemed strange to the captain, as
he knew of no vessel which had left Rio, except one several days
previous, and she should have been far on her voyage by this time.

The stranger approached very rapidly, carrying a press of canvas, and
"lying over" to it in fine style. In a short time the stranger was
almost within speaking distance, and Captain Lane made her out to be a
large heavily-sparred clipper brig. A collision seemed inevitable, if
she held her course. The _Ocean Star_ was a little to windward of the
stranger with the starboard tacks aboard, and Captain Lane knew it was
the stranger's duty to "bear up" and keep away. He jumped for his
speaking trumpet and hailed:

"Brig ahoy!"

No answer; and the mysterious vessel came booming right on for them with
fearful speed.

"Brig ahoy!" shouted the captain again. "Hard up your helm, or you will
be into me!"

Still no answer; and, jumping to the wheel, the captain jammed it down,
and they came up flying into the wind. Leaving the wheel to the
frightened seaman, he sprang into the port rail, to see where the
stranger would strike them. As he did so, that mysterious craft flew by,
and the whole sea seemed lighted up by a strange illumination. It was
like a terrible dream--so wild, so supernatural and unearthly. As
Captain Lane stood by the port rail, he saw right under his quarter, a
large, low, black brig, with her decks crowded with men, and guns
protruding from her ports; while on the weather rail, clinging with one
hand to the shrouds, stood a strange, demoniacal-looking figure, holding
in his outstretched hand, above the water, a burning blue light. On the
quarter-deck a little knot of men seemed standing, a short distance
apart from them was a strikingly handsome man, who, from his air of
superiority, Lane at once knew to be the commander. His perfectly poised
and graceful attitude, and thorough composure, as he removed a cigar
from his mouth and motioned an order to the helmsman, struck the
beholder as wonderful.

In an instant the whole thing flashed upon the captain--_he was a
pirate_! He had run under the stern of the brig and burned a blue light
to read the name of the vessel, and see if the bird was worth