derable distance. Either the captain
did not think that it was safe to commence operations at present, or
he did not like the look of some of the passing vessels; but at any
rate he made no movement to close with any of them, and it was not
until nightfall that sail was again hoisted and the brig proceeded on
her course.

Ralph noticed that she carried no light, and that even the binnacle
was carefully shaded so that its light could not be seen except by the
helmsman. At midnight his watch went on deck, and Ralph perceived that
while he had been below the sail had again been greatly reduced, and
noticed that from time to time the officer on watch swept the horizon
with his night-glass. He apparently observed nothing until about two
o'clock, when he stood for some time gazing intently astern. Then he
turned, gave an order to a sailor, who went below, and two or three
minutes later the captain came on deck. After speaking to the officer
he too gazed intently astern. Then the ship's course was suddenly
changed, the sheets eased off, and for half an hour she ran at a sharp
angle to the course she had before been following, then she was
brought up into the eye of the wind and laid to.

Although Ralph strained his eyes in the direction in which the captain
had been looking, he could see nothing; but he had no doubt a sail had
been seen coming up astern, and that the object of the change of
course was to let her pass them without their being seen. He rather
wondered that, instead of running off the wind, the captain had not
put her about so as to take her position to windward instead of to
leeward of the vessel behind; but he soon arrived at the object of the
maneuver. There were no stars to be seen, and the bank of clouds
overhead stretched away to the east, and the horizon there was
entirely obscured; but to the west the sky was lighter, and a vessel
would be clearly visible to the eye. The brig, therefore, in the
position she had taken up could not be seen, while she herself would
obtain a full view of the other as she passed her.

In an hour the other ship came along. She was a large ship, full
rigged, and the French sailors, who had all come on deck, now
clustered against the bulwarks and eagerly discussed her. She was
about two miles to windward, and opinions differed as to whether she
was a man-of-war or an Indiaman. Ralph rather wondered that the
privateer had not tried to get alongside in the darkness and take the