a ship
flying those of the enemy.

And now, to return to my story. On the fourth day after our abortive
adventure in Abervrach harbour the wind hauled round from the eastward,
and, heartily tired of and disgusted with our ill-luck, we gladly
squared away before it to seek a better fortune on the bosom of the
broad Atlantic. For a fortnight we stretched away to the southward and
westward, when we sighted and passed the lofty heights and precipitous
cliffs of Flores and Corvo, in the neighbourhood of which Captain Winter
determined to cruise for a week, it being customary for homeward-bound
ships from the southward to endeavour to make these islands and so check
their reckoning. The wind, meanwhile, had gone round, and was now
blowing a very moderate breeze from the southward, with a clear sky,
bright sunshine, and a pleasantly mild temperature.

We cruised for eight days off the Azores, sighting only three vessels
during the whole of that time; and as they were all British they were of
course of no use to us. Then, intensely disappointed at our continued
ill-luck, we hauled our wind and, with a freshening breeze from the
south-west, stretched away to the westward on the larboard tack, Captain
Winter having determined to look for better fortune in the West Indian
waters.

For the first two days after quitting the neighbourhood of the Azores we
made excellent progress; and then a steadily falling barometer,
accompanied by a lowering sky and a rapid increase in the strength of
the wind, warned us to prepare for bad weather. Up to this time we had
been carrying our topgallant-sail, flying-jib, and small gaff-topsail;
but with the steady freshening of the wind, the approach of night, and
the threatening aspect of the sky, the skipper deemed it prudent to stow
our light canvas and to take down a reef in the mainsail and topsail.
It was well that this precaution was taken; for during the night the
wind increased to the strength of a gale, with a very heavy, dangerous
sea; and when morning came it found us snugged down to the jib--with the
bonnet off,--reefed foresail, and close-reefed mainsail. It was at this
time looking very black and wild to windward; the sky all along the
south-western horizon being of a deep slaty, indigo hue, swept by swift-
flying streamers of dirty, whitish-grey cloud; while the leaden-grey
sea, scourged into a waste of steep, foam-capped ridges and deep,
seething, wind-furrowed valleys, had al