then, gather in the main sheet, ready for a jibe. Slack off the
starboard runner; a couple of hands aft and get the square sail out
of the locker.

"Mr. Purvis, get the yard across her, lower her down ready for the
sail, and see that the braces and guys are all right.

"Now in with the sheet, lads, handsomely. That will do, that is it.
Over she goes. Slack out the sheet steadily."

"She is round, too," Frank said, as the boom went off nearly
square. "We have gained, and she is not more than half a mile
away."

The manoeuvre had, in fact, brought the yachts nearer to each
other. Both had their booms over to starboard.

"Quick with that square sail," Frank shouted. "She is drawing away
from us fast."

Two minutes later the square sail was hoisted, and the foot boomed
out on the port side. Every eye was now fixed on the brigantine,
but to their disappointment they saw that she was still, though
very much more slowly, drawing ahead.

"That is just what I feared," Frank said, in a tone of deep
vexation. "With those big yards I was certain that she would leave
us when running ahead before the wind. However, there is no fear of
our leaving her. What are we doing now? Seven knots?"

"About that, sir, and she is doing a knot better."

"What do you think that she will do now, Hawkins?"

"I don't see what she has got to do, sir. If she were to get five
miles ahead of us, and then haul her wind, she would know that she
could not go away from us, for we should be to windward; and we are
evidently a good bit faster than she is when we are both close
hauled. The only other thing that I can see for her to do is to run
straight on to Port au Prince. At the rate we are going now she
would be in soon after daylight tomorrow. We should be seven or
eight miles astern of her, and he might think that we should not
venture to board her there."

"I don't think that he would rely on that, Hawkins. Now that he
knows who we are, he will guess that we shall stick at nothing.
What I am afraid of is that he will lower a boat and row Miss
Greendale and her maid ashore. He might do it either there, or,
what would be much more likely, row ashore to some quiet place
during the night, take his friend and two or three of his men with
him, and leave the rest to sail her to Port au Prince."

"I don't think that the wind is going to hold," the skipper said,
looking astern. "I reckon that it will drop, as it generally does,
at sunset. It is n