There were no stars to be seen, and the bank of clouds
overhead stretched away to the east, and the horizon there was
entirely obscured; but to the west the sky was lighter, and a vessel
would be clearly visible to the eye. The brig, therefore, in the
position she had taken up could not be seen, while she herself would
obtain a full view of the other as she passed her.
In an hour the other ship came along. She was a large ship, full
rigged, and the French sailors, who had all come on deck, now
clustered against the bulwarks and eagerly discussed her. She was
about two miles to windward, and opinions differed as to whether she
was a man-of-war or an Indiaman. Ralph rather wondered that the
privateer had not tried to get alongside in the darkness and take the
vessel by surprise, but he understood now that there was a strong
probability that the Belle Marie might have caught a tartar and have
suddenly run herself under the guns of a British frigate. As soon as
the vessel had passed, the braces were manned and the yards swung
round, and the brig continued her course. She was brought up almost to
the wind's-eye and sailed as closely as possible, so that when morning
broke she should have recovered the leeway she had made and should be
to windward of the vessel she was pursuing, no matter how much astern.
CHAPTER IV.
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