s all closely furled, so that we had an uninterrupted view
of the sky from horizon to zenith, all around, toward the latter of
which the delicate, tapering, naked spars pointed as steadily as the
spires of a church. The boatswain, however, was eagerly directing
Mendouca's attention toward small, dark object, broad on our starboard
bow; and turning my gaze toward it, I made out a brig under her two
topsails, jib, and trysail, with her courses in the brails. Mendouca
had already seized the night-glass, and with its aid was subjecting her
to a prolonged and searching scrutiny, upon the completion of which he
handed the instrument to me, with the remark, in English--

"Take a good look at her, Dugdale, and tell me what you think of her?"

I took the glass, and, having brought the stranger into its field, soon
managed, by an adjustment of the focus, to get a clear, sharply-defined
image of her, as she floated motionless, a black silhouette, against the
deep, velvety, purple-black, star-spangled sky. And as I did so a
certain sense of familiarity with the delicate, diminutive, black
picture upon which I was gazing thrilled through me. Surely I knew that
low, long, shapely hull; those lofty, slightly-raking masts; those
spacious topsails? Even the very steeve of the bowsprit seemed familiar
to me, and I felt certain that the superbly cut jib and handsome trysail
could belong only to the _Barracouta_! And, if so, how was I to act?
It was plainly my duty to do anything and everything that might be in my
power to promote the capture of the daring slaver and unscrupulous
pirate, whose guest--or prisoner--I was; but had I the power to do
_anything_? With that now thoroughly alert and even suspicious
individual at my side, and the watch on deck all about me, it was
clearly evident that nothing in the shape of signalling could even be
attempted with the slightest hope or chance of success; and the only
other mode of action that remained to me appeared to be to carefully
conceal my knowledge--or, rather, very strong suspicion--as to the
identity of the brig. I had barely arrived at this conclusion when
Mendouca, with an accent of impatience, interrupted my reverie with the
exclamation--

"Well, surely you have seen all that it is possible to see by this time?
Or cannot you quite make up your mind as to her character?"

"I have an impression that I have seen her before, and it seems to me
that she bears a very striking resem