a hole through her before
she gets to the coast."

"She is not more than a mile and a half from us now, and our midship gun
is good for more than that; but I don't think it is advisable to waste
our strength in firing at her just yet."

"That's just my way of thinking," said Mr. Makepeace, with something
like enthusiasm in his manner; and he was evidently delighted to find
that the commander knew what he was about, as he would have phrased it.

"The rakish steamer seems to be headed to the west south-west, and she
is exactly south-east of us. We can see that she is sailing very fast;
but how fast has not yet been demonstrated. How high should you rate her
speed, Mr. Makepeace?"

"I should say, Captain Passford, that she was making eighteen knots an
hour. She is kicking up a big fuss about it; and I'll bet a long-nine
cigar that she is doing her level best."

"I don't believe she is doing any better than that," added Christy.
"Make the course south south-west, Mr. Baskirk."

"South south-west, sir," replied the executive officer.

The course of the ship was changed, and Christy planked the deck from
the quarter-deck to the forecastle in order to obtain the best view he
could of the relative positions of the St. Regis, the chase, and the two
steamers astern of her. The blockade-runner showed no colors; and no
flag could have been of any service to her. She appeared still to be
very confident that she was in no danger, evidently relying wholly upon
her great speed to carry her through to her destination.

The "highflyer," as the second lieutenant called her every time he
alluded to the blockade-runner, and the two pursuers, occupied the three
angles of a triangle. The latter were both sending needless cannon balls
in the direction of the chase, but not one of them came anywhere near
her.

On the other hand, the highflyer and the St. Regis formed two angles of
another triangle, the third of which was the point where they would come
together, if nothing occurred to derange their relative positions. By
this time Paul Vapoor had developed all the power of the ship's boilers,
and the screw was making more revolutions a minute than her highest
record, which was found in a book the former chief engineer had left
in his stateroom.

"I don't think that highflyer quite understands the situation, Mr.
Baskirk," said the commander, as he observed that she did not vary her
course, and stood on to her destination, apparently