This lasted but a moment, however.  Presently the Englishman’s bow fell off, and by the time he was dead before the wind, we could see his studding-sails flapping in the air, as they were in the act of being distended, by means of halyards, tacks and sheets, all going at once.  The mist shut in the ship again before all this could be executed.  What was to be done next?  Marble said, as we were not on our precise course, it might serve a good turn to bring the wind on our starboard quarter, set all the studding-sails we could carry on the same side, and run off east-north-east:  I inclined to this opinion, and the necessary changes were made forthwith.  The wind and mist increased, and away we went, on a diverging line from the course of the Englishman, at the rate of quite ten knots in the hour.  This lasted fully forty minutes, and all hands of us fancied we had at last given the cruiser the slip.  Jokes and chuckling flew about among the men, as usual, and everybody began to feel as happy as success could make us, when the dark veil lifted at the south-west; the sun was seen struggling through the clouds, the vapour dispersed, and gradually the whole curtain which had concealed the ocean throughout that morning arose, extending the view around the ship, little by little, until nothing limited it but the natural horizon.

The anxiety with which we watched this slow rising of the curtain need scarcely be described.  Every eye was turned eagerly in the direction in which its owner expected to find the frigate, and great was our satisfaction as mile after mile opened in the circle around us, without bringing her beautiful proportions within its range.  But this could not last for ever, there not being sufficient time to carry so large a vessel over the curvature of the ocean’s surface.  As usual, Marble saw her first.  She had fairly passed to leeward of us, and was quite two leagues distant, driving ahead with the speed of a race-horse.  With a clear horizon, an open ocean, a stiff breeze, and hours of daylight, it was hopeless to attempt escape from as fast a vessel as the stranger, and I now determined to put the Dawn on her true course, and trust altogether to the goodness of my cause:  heels being out of the question.  The reader who will do me the favour to peruse the succeeding chapter, will learn the result of this resolution.

Chapter XIII.

  “Whom have we here?  Buckingham, to disturb
  The King hath sent him, sure:  I must dissemble.”

  King Henry VI.

At first, the frigate took single reefs in her top-sails, set topgallant-sails over them, and hauled up on taut bow-lines.  But seeing no signs of our studding-sails coming down, she shook out her reefs, squared her yards, set top-mast studding-sails, and kept off to a course that would be certain to intercept us.  She was up on our line of sailing some little time before we got down to her, and she kept standing off