"
"No doubt of that; and I hope we shall make a hole through her before
she gets to the coast."
"She is not more than a mile and a half from us now, and our midship gun
is good for more than that; but I don't think it is advisable to waste
our strength in firing at her just yet."
"That's just my way of thinking," said Mr. Makepeace, with something
like enthusiasm in his manner; and he was evidently delighted to find
that the commander knew what he was about, as he would have phrased it.
"The rakish steamer seems to be headed to the west south-west, and she
is exactly south-east of us. We can see that she is sailing very fast;
but how fast has not yet been demonstrated. How high should you rate her
speed, Mr. Makepeace?"
"I should say, Captain Passford, that she was making eighteen knots an
hour. She is kicking up a big fuss about it; and I'll bet a long-nine
cigar that she is doing her level best."
"I don't believe she is doing any better than that," added Christy.
"Make the course south south-west, Mr. Baskirk."
"South south-west, sir," replied the executive officer.
The course of the ship was changed, and Christy planked the deck from
the quarter-deck to the forecastle in order to obtain the best view he
could of the relative positions of the St. Regis, the chase, and the two
steamers astern of her. The blockade-runner showed no colors; and no
flag could have been of any service to her.
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