Ralph noticed that she carried no light, and that even the binnacle
was carefully shaded so that its light could not be seen except by the
helmsman. At midnight his watch went on deck, and Ralph perceived that
while he had been below the sail had again been greatly reduced, and
noticed that from time to time the officer on watch swept the horizon
with his night-glass. He apparently observed nothing until about two
o'clock, when he stood for some time gazing intently astern. Then he
turned, gave an order to a sailor, who went below, and two or three
minutes later the captain came on deck. After speaking to the officer
he too gazed intently astern. Then the ship's course was suddenly
changed, the sheets eased off, and for half an hour she ran at a sharp
angle to the course she had before been following, then she was
brought up into the eye of the wind and laid to.
Although Ralph strained his eyes in the direction in which the captain
had been looking, he could see nothing; but he had no doubt a sail had
been seen coming up astern, and that the object of the change of
course was to let her pass them without their being seen. He rather
wondered that, instead of running off the wind, the captain had not
put her about so as to take her position to windward instead of to
leeward of the vessel behind; but he soon arrived at the object of the
maneuver.
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