in the cutter?" said the captain complacently to the quarter-deck group,
when his survey aloft had taken sufficient heed that his own nautical
skill should correct the instinct of the ship. "A skittish horse, or a
whale with the irons in him, or, for that matter, one of the funniest of
your theatricals, would not have given a prettier aside than this poor old
hulk, which is certainly just the clumsiest craft that sails the ocean. I
wish King William would take it into his royal head, now, to send one of
his light-heeled cruisers out to prove it, by way of resenting the
cantaverous trick the Montauk played his boat!"

The dull report of a gun, as the sound came short and deadened up against
the breeze, checked the raillery of Mr. Truck. On looking to leeward,
there was sufficient light to see the symmetrical sails of the corvette
they had left at anchor, trimmed close by the wind, and the vessel itself
standing out under a press of canvas, apparently in chase. The gun had
evidently been fired as a signal of recall to the cutter, blue lights
being burnt on board of both the ship and its boat, in proof that they
were communicating.

The passengers now looked gravely at each other, for the matter, in their
eyes, began to be serious. Some suggested the possibility that the offence
of Davis might be other than debt, but this was disproved by the process
and the account of the bailiff himself; while most concluded that a
determination to resent the slight done the authorities had caused the
cruiser to follow them out, with the intention of carrying them back
again. The English passengers in particular began now to reason in favour
of the authority of the crown, while those who were known to be Americans
grew warm in maintaining the rights of their flag. Both the Effinghams,
however, were moderate in the expression of their opinions; for education,
years, and experience, had taught them to discriminate justly.