me creeping stealthily and imperceptibly up into somewhere
near her old berth again. And this was done so naturally that, had it
not occurred more than once, I do not know that I should have taken any
notice of it. To me, however, the circumstance wore a rather suspicious
appearance; and when I had mentioned it to the skipper he seemed
somewhat disposed to take my view that the craft, although apparently
British built, was in reality an enemy's privateer, with designs upon
the disabled ship as soon as a favourable opportunity should occur for
carrying them out. At all events there appeared to be enough
probability in the hypothesis to induce Captain Winter to remain in
company of the convoy, to watch the progress of events, instead of
wearing round and resuming our course to the southward.

The gale continued to blow all day with unabated fury, and the convoy,
of course, remained hove-to. But, as the hours wore on, the several
craft gradually became more scattered, the less weatherly vessels
steadily settling away to leeward, until, by the time that the dark,
gloomy day drew toward its close, the fleet was spread out over a
surface of ocean measuring, as nearly as one could judge, nearly or
quite twelve miles in every direction: those craft that had sustained
damage aloft naturally for the most part settling to leeward at a
greater rate than the rest, since they were unable to dispose their
canvas so advantageously as the others for the purpose of lying-to. The
frigate and gun-brigs were kept busy all day watching these stragglers,
urging them by signal, and the occasional firing of guns, to close with
the main body of the fleet, and generally playing the part of sheep-
dogs; while the crews of the lame ducks could be seen clearing away the
wreck of their broken spars, unbending their split sails and bending
others in place, and, in fact, doing their utmost to comply with the
orders of the men-o'-war. But, after all, their utmost was but little;
the merchantmen being altogether too lightly manned to be able to do
really effective work in the face of such a gale as was then blowing.
The brigantine that had excited our suspicions had come in for a share
of the attention of one of the gun-brigs, and it was noticeable that,
after the man-o'-war had run down and hailed her, no further accidents
appeared to have happened aboard her, so that the disabled ship had
gradually settled away some five miles astern and to leewar