On this occasion, the frigate may have been visible from our decks three minutes.  I watched all her movements, as the cat watches the mouse.  In the first place her reefs were shaken out, as the ship’s bows fell off far enough to get the sea on the right side of them, and her top-sails appeared to me to be mast-headed by instinct, or as the bird extends its wings.  The fore and main-top-gallant sails were fluttering in the breeze at this very moment,—­it blew rather too fresh for the mizen,—­and then their bosoms were distended, and their bow-lines hauled.  How the fore and main-tacks got aboard I could not tell, though it was done while my eyes were on the upper sails.  I caught a glimpse of the fore-sheet, however, as the clew was first flapping violently, and then was brought under the restraint of its own proper, powerful purchase.  The spanker had been hauled out previously, to help the ship in tacking.

There was no mistaking all this.  We were seen, and chased; everything on board the frigate being instantly and accurately trimmed, “full and by.”  She looked up into our wake, and I knew must soon overtake a heavily-laden ship like the Dawn, in the style in which she was worked and handled.  Under the circumstances, therefore, I motioned Marble to follow me aft, where we consulted together, touching our future proceedings.  I confess I was disposed to shorten sail, and let the cruiser come alongside; but Marble, as usual, was for holding on.

“We are bound to Hamburg,” said the mate, “which lies, hereaway, on our lee-beam, and no man has a right to complain of our steering our course.  The mist has shut the frigate in again, and, it being very certain he will overhaul us on a bow-line, I advise you, Miles, to lay the yards perfectly square, edge away two points more, and set the weather stun’-sails.  If we do not open John very soon again, we may be off three or four miles to leeward before he learns where we are, and then, you know, a ‘starn-chase’ is always a ‘long-chase.’”

This was good advice, and I determined to follow it.  It blew rather fresh at the instant, and the Dawn began to plunge through the seas at a famous rate as soon as she felt the drag of the studding-sails.  We were now running on a course that made an obtuse angle with that of the frigate, and there was the possibility of so far increasing our distance as to get beyond the range of the openings of the mist, ere our expedient were discovered.  So long did the density of the atmosphere continue, indeed, that my hopes were beginning to be strong, just as one of our people called out “the frigate!” This time she was seen directly astern of us, and nearly two miles distant!  Such had been our gain, that ten minutes longer would have carried us clear.  As we now saw her, I felt certain she would soon see us, eyes being on the look-out on board her, beyond a question.  Nevertheless, the cruiser was still on a bow-line, standing on the course on which we had been last seen.