His first move was to make a more decided
course to the southward. Then he hastened the crew in their work.
"Sail, ho!" called Vincent, who had not abated his vigilance on the
lookout; and he pointed with his right hand in the direction he had seen
the craft.
Mr. Pennant concluded that the sail could not be far off, or it could
not be seen, and it would be useless to maintain the dead silence, which
was painful to all in the boat. He stood up in his place, and, after
looking for a couple of minutes, he made out the sail himself. So far as
he could judge from what he saw, the craft was a small sloop of not more
than thirty-five feet in length.
"Give way now, lively!" said the third lieutenant, in his ordinary
tones. "I make her out, and she is a small sloop. We shall not have much
of a brush."
Under the vigorous pulling of eight stalwart men, the cutter leaped
forward at a speed that would have won an ordinary boat race, and in ten
minutes more, the sloop could be distinctly made out, the cutter running
across her bow. She was close-hauled, with the wind from the south-west,
and very little of it. On board of her were at least ten men, as the
quartermaster counted them, and there might have been more in her cuddy
under the hail-deck forward.
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