"Her crew crowd her deck as thick as bees," observed Joe, when the whole flush line of the stranger's deck could be seen, as her head went down into the trough of the sea and her stern rose alternately. The whole of the Amethyst's company were on deck now, and the strange craft was an object of undivided attention.
"In these days of steam," said Captain Talbot, with a smile that was not quite a smile, "one may well think that a pirate is as much a thing of the past as a slaver in these seas; but the bearing of this craft is very suspicious, and we must risk nothing with a cargo so valuable."
Joe Grummet, who had been looking at her from the mizen-rigging, now reported that she had portlids partly triced up, and that right amidships she had something covered by a tarpaulin that was certainly not a boat, and, if not a boat, was very probably a long-range gun, and that she had a Chilian or Brazilian look about her, "that with the coloured lot on her deck certainly suggested that it would be as well to give her as wide a berth as possible."
"Cast loose the royal," ordered Captain Talbot, "and set the fore and main studding sails, and the topgallant studding sails."
This was all speedily done, and the ship began to tear through the water, on which the brigantine set her square main topsail, but still did not show her colours.
"It is clearly a case of chase, and had she not such a crowd of men—by Jove! I would lie to and try conclusions with her," said Captain Talbot, whose cheek flushed, and whose eyes sparkled with excitement.
To make the sails draw better, he now ordered water to be thrown on them, and to wet them down by buckets whipped up to the masthead. He then ordered the vessel's course to be changed more than once, but the craft in pursuit changed hers in the same manner, and by noon was drawing nearer and nearer.
Matters were becoming serious now, and the excitement on the Amethyst was increasing. Captain Talbot next ordered the guns to be cast loose, the powder and small arms to be brought on deck, with the cutlasses and revolvers, and a grim expression of something very like satisfaction mingled with defiance became visible on the faces of the men, as they buckled on their waist-belts and filled their cartridge-boxes.
"Hurrah!" cried Joe Grummet, applying the edge of a cutlass to his hard, brown palm; "we'll tip them a twist of the Royal Naval Reserve."
"I hope it won't come to that, Grummet," said the Captain seriously; "she has ten men for each of us evidently."