appearance, for, the instant the breeze reached her, she crowded
all sail and showed us her stern. As the breeze had moderated a
little our top-sails were again shaken out, and it soon became
evident, - despite the proverb, "A stern chase is a long one," that
we doubled her speed and would overhaul her speedily. When within
a mile we hoisted British colours, but receiving no acknowledgment,
the captain ordered a shot to be fired across her bows. In a
moment, to my surprise, a large portion of the bottom of the boat
amidships was removed, and in the hole thus exposed appeared an
immense brass gun. It worked on a swivel and was elevated by means
of machinery. It was quickly loaded and fired. The heavy ball
struck the water a few yards ahead of the chase, and, ricochetting
into the air, plunged into the sea a mile beyond it.

This produced the desired effect. The strange vessel backed her
top-sails and hove-to, while we ranged up and lay-to, about a
hundred yards off.

"Lower the boat," cried the captain.

In a second the boat was lowered and manned by a part of the crew,
who were all armed with cutlasses and pistols. As the captain
passed me to get into it, he said, "jump into the stern sheets,
Ralph, I may want you." I obeyed, and in ten minutes more we were
standing on the stranger's deck. We were all much surprised at the
sight that met our eyes. Instead of a crew of such sailors as we
were accustomed to see, there were only fifteen blacks standing on
the quarter-deck and regarding us with looks of undisguised alarm.
They were totally unarmed and most of them unclothed; one or two,
however, wore portions of European attire. One had on a pair of