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.
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