that we were head-reaching upon her; whereupon she
dropped her foresail, to keep pace with us, while we on our part took a
small pull upon the lee braces, which enabled us to head up a point
higher, and so gradually edge up toward her.

Such excessive caution as the stranger was now exhibiting convinced me
that she could not be British; she must, consequently, be an enemy. And
having once made up my mind upon this point, I very gradually braced our
yards as flat in against the rigging as they would come, flattened in
the main and jib-sheets, and thus brought the _Diane_ on a taut bowline,
without, as I hoped, arousing the suspicion of the stranger, meanwhile
keeping the telescope constantly levelled upon her in order that, should
I see any hands in her rigging going aloft to make sail, we might follow
suit without loss of time. But I did not wish to take the initiative,
because by so doing I might possibly alarm them; while, so long as we
both kept on as we were, we were gradually and almost imperceptibly
closing her.

This state of affairs prevailed for about an hour, when suddenly--with
the view, perhaps, of compelling us to disclose our intentions--the
stranger tacked. Obliged thus to throw off the mask, we at once did the
same, the hands--who had been standing by, waiting for orders--at the
same time springing into the rigging to loose our additional canvas; and
by the time that the little hooker was fairly round on the starboard
tack, and the yards swung, our topgallant sail and gaff-topsail were
sheeted home and in the act of being hoisted, together with the flying-
jib, foretopmast staysail, and main and maintopmast staysails, while the
fore tack was being boarded and the sheet hauled aft. This caused an
immediate stir aboard the stranger, who, in her turn, at once set all
plain sail to her topgallant sails, the wind being altogether too fresh
for either of us to show a royal to it.

The manoeuvres just described brought the brig about three points before
our starboard beam and some eight miles to windward of us, both craft
being now close-hauled on the starboard tack. There was a strong breeze
blowing from the north-east, with a fair amount of sea on, and the day
was brilliantly fine, with a rich, clear, crystalline blue sky, dappled
here and there with puffs of white trade-cloud sailing solemnly athwart
our mastheads; a splendid day for sailing, and we had the whole of it
before us.

It soon became ap