ne hundred and forty tons. Mendouca was thoroughly
perplexed at her extraordinary antics; his glass was scarcely ever off
her, and when he removed it from his eye it was only to hand it to me
and impatiently demand whether I could not make out something to
elucidate the mystery. At length, after witnessing through the
telescope some more than usually extraordinary performance with the
canvas, I remarked--

"I think there is one thing pretty clear about that brig, and that is
that she is in the possession of people who have not the remotest notion
how to handle her."

"Eh? what is that you say?" demanded Mendouca. "Don't know how to
handle her? Well, it certainly appears that they do not," as the
fore-topsail-halliard was started and the yard slid slowly down the
mast, leaving the topgallant-sail and royal fully set above it. "By
Jove, I have it!" he suddenly continued, slapping his thigh
energetically. "Yonder brig is in possession of a cargo of slaves who
have somehow been allowed to rise and overpower her crew! Yes, by
heaven, that must be the explanation of it! At all events we will run
down and see. Blow, good breeze, blow!" and he whistled energetically
after the manner of seamen in want of a wind.

The breeze, however, utterly refused to blow; on the contrary, it was
growing more languid every minute, while our speed had dwindled down to
a bare two knots; and the thunder-clouds were piling up overhead blacker
and more menacing every minute. At length, when we were a bare three
miles from the brig, the helmsman reported that we no longer had
steerage-way, and as the _Francesca_ slowly swung round upon her heel,
bringing the brig broad on her starboard quarter, Mendouca stamped
irritably on the deck, and cursed the weather, the brig, the brigantine;
in fact he cursed "everything above an inch high," as we say in the navy
when we wish to describe a thorough, comprehensive outburst of
profanity. At length, having given free vent to his impatience, he
stood for a moment intently studying the lowering heavens, strode across
the deck and glanced through the open skylight at the barometer, then
turned to me and said, in English--

"What think you, Dugdale; would it be safe, in your opinion, to send
away a couple of boats to take possession of that brig? The glass has
dropped nothing to speak of since it was set this morning, and that
stuff up there promises nothing worse than a sharp thunderstorm and a
pe