Dick and Ben were stationed forward.
“How soon do you think we shall come up with that craft?” asked Dick.
“Maybe to-morrow and maybe the next day, if we follow her long enough and the wind doesn’t shift. But if it does, and she slips away to windward, the chances are we shan’t see her again. The weather doesn’t look very settled to my eye, though I am not accustomed to these seas, but I have heard tell that it blows pretty strong hereabouts at times.”
The day wore on; still the chase kept well ahead. She was probably bound to one of the Dutch settlements in the Moluccas, and intended to pass through the Straits of Lombok or some other passage into those seas to the east of Java.
Night came on. It was bright, and the stranger could still be distinguished as she glided over the moonlit sea.
“Everything is in our favour,” observed Lord Reginald to Voules; “but we must take care not to lose sight of her for a moment. Take care that sharp-eyed fellows are stationed on the forecastle. I must turn in for a spell, though do not fail to call me should anything occur.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” answered Voules, though he grumbled not a little, as he went forward to see that his lordship’s orders were carried out. He found Ben and Dick on the forecastle. “Can you see the chase?” he asked, pretending not to notice who they were.
“Ay, ay, sir. It must be a pretty deal darker than it now is, not to see her,” answered Ben.
“Well, well, take care that you keep her in sight, and sing out if she changes her course.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” answered Ben, and Voules went aft again earnestly hoping that thick weather would come on, and that the chase would be lost sight of. He could then throw the blame on the two look-out men, who would not be likely to escape punishment. They, however, during their watch, had no difficulty in keeping the chase in sight; when they turned in she appeared right ahead as clear as ever, with the moonbeams shining on her white canvas.