ed, from our point of view, I did not by any means like the look of
it; the hazy appearance of the atmosphere, far from clearing, was
steadily increasing in density, the sun had by this time vanished
altogether, and the appearance of gloom away down to the westward was
now deepening and, at the same time, working round into the northern
quarter of the heavens. Also, the mercury was dropping quite rapidly.

My chief anxiety now was to overhaul the pirate schooner and bring her
to action before nightfall; for, with bad weather threatening, unless we
could succeed in doing this, there was every likelihood of her giving us
the slip during the hours of darkness. A stern-chase is proverbially a
long chase, and a chase to windward is apt to be even longer, while a
start of some ten miles, under such circumstances, must necessarily
prove a heavy handicap to the pursuing vessel; nevertheless I was not
without hope that, difficult as our task threatened to be, we might yet
accomplish it. For it still wanted nearly an hour to noon, the _Wasp_
was slipping along through the water like a racer, and was looking up a
full point nearer the wind than our antagonist, and, early as it yet was
to form such a conclusion, I felt almost certain that we were
head-reaching as well as weathering upon the chase.

As soon as it became apparent that some hours would probably elapse
before we could go into action, I gave orders for the guns to be secured
and the galley fire to be lighted again, in order that the men might not
be deprived of their usual dinner; and this meal was just nicely over
when, to our utter amazement, the chase suddenly hoisted the black flag,
bore up, and with squared yards came running down with the obvious
intention of coming to close quarters with us; whereupon we once more
made ready for battle, at the same time shortening sail to our ordinary
working canvas. At first I was distinctly puzzled to account for or
understand this sudden change of tactics upon the part of the pirates;
but a remark of Henderson's seemed to offer a tolerably plausible
explanation of it.

"Depend upon it, sir," he suggested, "they only hauled off to give
themselves time to stow away the plunder that cumbered their decks when
they shoved off from the Spaniard. They wouldn't want to go into action
with a lot of bales and cases hamperin' their movements; but now that
they've got everything snugly stowed under hatches, they're comin' down
to t