stowed, the men stood by the sheets and halyards,
and the captain gazed anxiously at the breeze which was now rushing
towards us like a sheet of dark blue. In a few seconds it struck us. The
schooner trembled as if in surprise at the sudden onset, while she fell
away, then bending gracefully to the wind, as though in acknowledgment of
her subjection, she cut through the waves with her sharp prow like a
dolphin, while Bill directed her course towards the strange sail.

In half an hour we neared her sufficiently to make out that she was a
schooner, and, from the clumsy appearance of her masts and sails we
judged her to be a trader. She evidently did not like our appearance,
for, the instant the breeze reached her, she crowded all sail and showed
us her stern. As the breeze had moderated a little our top-sails were
again shaken out, and it soon became evident,--despite the proverb, "A
stern chase is a long one," that we doubled her speed and would overhaul
her speedily. When within a mile we hoisted British colours, but
receiving no acknowledgment, the captain ordered a shot to be fired
across her bows. In a moment, to my surprise, a large portion of the
bottom of the boat amidships was removed, and in the hole thus exposed
appeared an immense brass gun. It worked on a swivel and was elevated by
means of machinery. It was quickly loaded and fired. The heavy ball
struck the water a few yards ahead of the chase, and, ricochetting into
the air, plunged into the sea a mile beyond it.

This produced the desired effect. The strange vessel backed her
top-sails and hove-to, while we ranged up and lay-to, about a hundred
yards off.

"Lower the boat," cried the captain.

In a second the boat was lowered and manned by a part of the crew, who
were all armed with cutlasses and pistols. As the captain passed me to
get into it, he said, "jump into the stern sheets, Ralph, I may want
you." I obeyed, and in ten minutes more we were standing on the
stranger's deck. We were all much surprised at the sight that met our
eyes. Instead of a crew of such sailors as we were accustomed to see,
there were only fifteen blacks standing on the quarter-deck and regarding
us with looks of undisguised alarm. They were totally unarmed and most
of them unclothed; one or two, however, wore portions of European attire.
One had on a pair of duck trousers which were much too large for him and
stuck out in a most ungainly manner. Another wore