uld run straight out to sea, and lay to, eight or ten miles off.
He would be able to make us out then at daylight, whichever course we
take; whereas, by trying to follow in the dark, he would run the chance
of missing us altogether. I wish the wind would get up a bit. We are
not moving through the water more than three knots an hour, and it's
dying away. However, I fancy it will blow up again in the morning."

"Do you know whether she is faster than you are?" James asked.

"There is not much difference," the captain replied. "If the wind is
strong, we have the legs of her; but in a light breeze, she is the
fastest. She has chased us half a dozen times already, but we have
always given her the slip."

"Then, even if she does run out to sea, as you say," James said, "we
ought to be safe, as we should be a dozen miles or so along the coast."

"Yes, but not that ahead of her," the captain answered, "for she would
be so much to the seaward. Still, that would be far enough; but she
will begin to fire long before we are in range, and will bring any
other king's ship within hearing down on us. However, I daresay we
shall give her the slip, as we have done before."

The hours passed slowly. The wind continued to drop, until the vessel
scarcely moved through the water, and, after a while, the sweeps were
got out, and were worked until the day broke. All eyes were on the
lookout for the cutter, as the day dawn began to steal over the sky.

"There she is, sure enough," the captain exclaimed at length, "lying to
on the watch, some eight miles to the west. She must have seen us, for
we are against the light sky; but, like, ourselves, she is becalmed."

It was a quarter of an hour, however, before the position of the cutter
was seen to change. Then her head was suddenly turned east.

"She has got the wind," the captain said. "Now we only want a good
breeze, and you'll have a lively day of it, lads."

From the time when she had turned, the lugger had made only about eight
miles along the coast to the east, and an equal distance seaward, for
the tide had set against her. The morning was bright and clear, the sea
was perfectly smooth. As yet, the sails hung idly down, but there were
dark lines on the water that showed that a breeze was coming.

"We shall have plenty of wind presently," the skipper said. "See how
light the sky is to the south. There will be white tops on the waves in
an hour or two.

"Here comes a flaw. Haul in