been done by the Government people to spoil the little beauty's sailing
qualities; she was precisely as she had been when engaged in her
original nefarious trade, except that her slave-deck had been taken out
of her; and long before sundown we had run the African coast clean out
of sight, to the joy of all hands, fore and aft.

We had but one adventure, if indeed it could be called such, on our
passage across the Atlantic, and that occurred on our eighth day out
from Sierra Leone. Up to then we had sighted nothing, and had had a
very fine passage, the trade wind blowing fresh enough all the time to
enable us to maintain an average speed of nine knots throughout the
passage. But on the day of which I am now speaking, about six bells in
the afternoon watch, we sighted a large sail ahead, and, some ten
minutes later, another, following in the wake of the first. Both were,
of course, hull-down when we first sighted them, and broad on our port
bow, standing to the northward close-hauled on the starboard tack, but
as they were carrying on heavily, and we were travelling fast, we
rapidly rose each other, and it then became evident that the second
craft, a very fine and handsome brig, was in pursuit of the other, which
was a full-rigged ship, apparently a British West Indiaman. This
surmise of ours as to the nationality of the leading ship was soon
confirmed, for as we rushed rapidly down toward the two we hoisted our
colours, in response to which she immediately displayed the British
ensign, following it up by hoisting a series of signals to her mizzen
royal-mast-head which, when completed, read:

"Stranger astern suspected pirate."

Here was a pretty business indeed, and a very nice question for me to
decide on the spur of the moment. What was my duty, under the
circumstances? On the one hand, here was a British merchantman,
doubtless carrying a very valuable cargo, in imminent danger of being
captured and plundered, and, possibly, her crew massacred, for the brig
was overhauling the Indiaman hand over hand; while on the other were the
explicit and emphatic instructions of the commodore to pause for
nothing. It was certain that unless I interfered the Indiaman would be
captured, and every instinct within me rose up in protest against the
idea of leaving her to her fate, while the words of the commodore were:
"If you should happen to be attacked, fight, but not otherwise". I
reflected for a moment or two, and then de