The barque had scarcely begun to gather way before the hands were in her rigging, and next moment they were laying out on both topsail-yards and turning out the reefs; although the breeze was so strong that, half-loaded as she was, she was careening almost gunwale to.
We passed close under her stern; and her skipper, as we drew near, walked aft to the taffrail and hailed us.
“Thank you, sir, for your information; please report us and this circumstance; God knows whether we shall escape the rascals or no.”
I waved my hand, to signify that I understood and would comply with his request; noting, as I did so, the name and the port of registry of the vessel, which were painted on her stern in white letters: “The Kingfisher, of Hull.”
Scarcely were we past her, when we saw a small red flag go fluttering up to her main-topgallant-mast-head; a signal, as we supposed, to hurry the other boats back. The poor fellows were awkwardly situated.
Had they been hull-down to the northward or the southward, the pirates might possibly, in the eagerness of their desire for vengeance upon us, have allowed her to pass on unmolested; but now that the barque lay almost directly within their path, we dared not hope for any such display of forbearance.
There were many stores on board a well-found whaler which would be most useful to men situated like the desperadoes on board the brig; and they would scarcely forego the opportunity of making the acquisition for the sake of continuing to chase a craft which was indubitably walking away from them fast, and which must run them out of sight altogether in a few hours more, unless some accident occurred to place her within their power.
We watched the proceedings of the two vessels with the most absorbing interest, as may well be supposed. The Lily was very quickly far enough to leeward of the barque to enable us to see the two boats clear of his bow; and we noticed that their crews were pulling with might and main.
But in about ten minutes’ time they were once more shut in by the intervention of their vessel’s hull between us and them; and before they could open out astern of her, the barque went in stays, having apparently stood on far enough to fetch her boats on the next tack.
The brig had in the interim run down to within about four miles of the whaler, and was still flying along, dead before the wind, with everything set, up to topgallant stunsails on both sides; and no sign had so far revealed itself on board her by which we could judge of the intention of her crew.