ive minutes, reading all the signs which a seaman sees in the almost
imperceptible peculiarities of rig, shape of sails, etcetera. Having
satisfied himself, he descended deliberately to the deck, evidently
ruminating deeply.

"Now I'll tell ye what I think of the matter, Harry," said he, as he
came aft and seated himself beside me. "There's a familiar sort of a
look with that craft away yonder; I seems to recognise her as some'at
I've seen afore; and I've no moral doubt in the world but what it's that
villain Johnson, although we can't be _sartain_ of it until we gets a
nearer look at her. And I've an idee that, if anything, it's _we_
that's got the weather-gauge; and if _so_, by all means keep it, even if
we has to run the gauntlet of her broadside for a minute or two. Once
let's be to wind'ard, and in such weather as this I wouldn't fear the
smartest _square-rigged_ craft that ever was launched. We could lead
'em no end of a dance, and then give 'em the slip a'terwards when we was
tired of the fun. So my advice is to luff up as close as you can; not
_too_ close ye know, lad; let her go through it; but spring your luff
all as you can get, and let's try what our friend yonder is made of. As
long as we're to _leeward_ of him the game is _his_; but let's get to
_wind'ard_ of him and it's _ours_ to do what we like with it."

I had it in my mind to take in all the canvas and lie _perdu_ until the
brig had crossed our course and was well out of our road to the
northward; but that would still be leaving him the weather-gauge; and I
saw fully as clearly as Bob did the advantage of obtaining this, if
possible; so on we stood, boldly, lying a good point higher than we had
been before steering, yet keeping every sail a good clean full, and
drawing to perfection.

The wind, however, was dropping fast; and by the time that the sun was
on the meridian we were not going more than five knots. This made me
extremely anxious; more particularly as the stranger proved a remarkably
fast vessel; so much _so_, that it still remained a matter of doubt
which of us would cross the other.

Bob, on the other hand, was delighted beyond measure, stoutly avowing
that the falling breeze was little, if anything, short of a divine
manifestation in our favour. He declared himself ready to stake all he
was possessed of in the world (and if the brig should turn out to be the
pirate, he actually _was_ staking his life) on our speed as against t