“Yes, you may as well do so.  The muskets can be loaded and laid by the bulwarks, but they are not to be touched until I give the order.  No doubt they also are armed.  I am anxious not to fire a shot if it can be helped, and once alongside we are strong enough to overpower them with our cutlasses only.  With the five blacks we are now double their strength, and even Carthew may see the uselessness of offering any resistance.”

They ran down until they were within a mile of the shore, not being now more than a beam off the brigantine.  Two female figures had some time before been made out on her deck, but they had now disappeared.  It was evident that the Osprey was being closely watched by those on board the brigantine.  Presently two or three men were seen to run aft.

“They are going to tack again, sir.  If they do they will come right out to us.”

Frank made no reply, but stood with his glass fixed on the brigantine.  Suddenly he exclaimed: 

“Round with her, Hawkins!”

“Up with your helm, Andrews.  Hard up, man!” the skipper shouted, as he himself ran to slack out the main sheet.  Four men ran aft to assist him.

“That will do,” he said, as she fell off fast from the wind.  “Now, then, gather in the main sheet, ready for a jibe.  Slack off the starboard runner; a couple of hands aft and get the square sail out of the locker.

“Mr. Purvis, get the yard across her, lower her down ready for the sail, and see that the braces and guys are all right.

“Now in with the sheet, lads, handsomely.  That will do, that is it.  Over she goes.  Slack out the sheet steadily.”

“She is round, too,” Frank said, as the boom went off nearly square.  “We have gained, and she is not more than half a mile away.”

The manoeuvre had, in fact, brought the yachts nearer to each other.  Both had their booms over to starboard.

“Quick with that square sail,” Frank shouted.  “She is drawing away from us fast.”

Two minutes later the square sail was hoisted, and the foot boomed out on the port side.  Every eye was now fixed on the brigantine, but to their disappointment they saw that she was still, though very much more slowly, drawing ahead.

“That is just what I feared,” Frank said, in a tone of deep vexation.  “With those big yards I was certain that she would leave us when running ahead before the wind.  However, there is no fear of our leaving her.  What are we doing now?  Seven knots?”

“About that, sir, and she is doing a knot better.”

“What do you think that she will do now, Hawkins?”

“I don’t see what she has got to do, sir.  If she were to get five miles ahead of us, and then haul her wind, she would know that she could not go away from us, for we should be to windward; and we are evidently a good bit faster than she is when we are both close hauled.  The only other thing that I can see for her to do is to run straight on to Port au Prince.  At the rate we are going now she would be in soon after daylight tomorrow.  We should be seven or eight miles astern of her, and he might think that we should not venture to board her there.”