her lee quarter,
never shipped a drop of green water, and I was highly delighted at her
excellent sea-going qualities. I thought, however, that she would take
the seas much more easily if she were relieved of the strain and
leverage aloft of her long heavy swaying yards; I therefore had the
lateens taken in and the lugs substituted for them, and was rewarded for
my trouble by finding my anticipations amply realised.

The wind continued to increase all through the morning, and by noon it
was blowing quite a fresh gale, with a correspondingly heavy sea.

At five p.m. the lookout reported a sail about two points on our
weather-bow.

"What do you make her out to be?" demanded I.

"She looks large enough for a frigate," replied the man; "but I shall
have a better sight of her in a few minutes, sir; she is steering this
way."

"I say, Chester, suppose it's a frigate from Gibraltar with despatches
for the admiral; what will you do?" exclaimed young Smellie, as we stood
together by the weather-bulwarks, hanging on to the main-rigging.

"There is only one thing that we _can_ do, and that is, exchange
despatches, and each return as quickly as possible to our respective
starting-points. It will be a great bore if we are obliged to cut short
our cruise; but our despatches are urgent, and our duty plainly is to
forward them with all possible speed; and as this vessel, if she prove
to be a frigate, will almost certainly be a much faster craft than
ourselves, we shall be in duty bound to put our despatch-box on board of
her."

"How will you get them on board?" inquired my companion. "It would be a
very ticklish business to launch a boat in this sea."

"We must get near enough, if possible, to effect the exchange without
the aid of a boat," returned I. "With care on both sides I think it
might be safely managed. What does the stranger look like by this
time?" I continued to the lookout.

"Seems to me that he has a very Frenchified look about him, sir,"
replied he.

"Phew! I hope not," said I to Smellie. "Lend me your glass a moment,
will you? Mine is down below. I think I'll take a trip aloft and see
what I can make out about him."

I accordingly went aloft to the fore-yard, and sitting astride it, close
to the parrals, took as good a look at the fast-approaching craft as the
swaying of the yard and the lively motion of the little "Vigilant" would
permit.

I remained there for quite ten minutes, and by the end