Night fell, and now the Sylph began to draw closer to her quarry. She closed up the distance gradually, until Lord Hastings decided that they were near enough; and this position the Sylph maintained, her searchlight playing upon the Emden and making her as light as day.
All night and all the following day the Sylph followed the Emden. Several times the Emden put about, and made as if to give chase, but on each occasion the Sylph also changed her course. The relative positions of the two vessels remained the same, except that in the light of day the Sylph put more distance between her and her quarry.
Night drew on once more, and again the Sylph approached closer. It was plain that this remorseless pursuit was worrying the commander of the Emden and that he did not know which way to turn to avoid his pursuer.
Lord Hastings sniffed the air.
"Feels like there would be a fog tonight," he said. "I hope it is not so dense as to dim the glow of the searchlight."
But in this he was doomed to disappointment. The fog descended, but still those on the Sylph could dimly make out the outline of the Emden. But with the approach of morning, while Jack had the bridge, the fog suddenly thickened, and blotted out the pursued vessel entirely.
Quickly Jack summoned Lord Hastings.
Immediately Lord Hastings ordered the searchlight extinguished and all lights on board put out.
"We don't want to let him know where we are," he said. "I feel absolutely certain that Captain von Mueller will double back and try to come up upon us in the fog. We must avoid that at all hazards, and at the same time must so maneuver as to be near enough to pick him up when the fog lifts."
Lord Hastings altered the course of the Sylph slightly, but continued to go forward. Six o'clock came and no sign of the Emden, and then seven. And then the fog lifted as suddenly as it had descended, and at that moment there was the sound of a big gun and a shell whistled over the stern of the Sylph.