At this time it was about two bells in the first dog-watch, and they could therefore reckon on some ten hours of complete darkness-- sufficient, as the captain believed and hoped, to allow them to overtake the other two ships of the squadron. They continued to crack on; and, as the skipper had enjoined the maintenance of strict silence, the ship seemed to those on board to resemble some dim phantom vessel, leaping ghost-like from wave to wave before the strengthening wind. No sound whatever was to be heard on board save the "swish" of the water alongside, the low roar of the bow-wave as she plunged through it and turned it aside from her bows, the weird crying of the wind through her maze of rigging aloft, and the occasional "cheep" of parral or block-sheave to the 'scend of the ship. At about ten o'clock, much to the captain's satisfaction, the lights at the stern of the _Tiger_ could be much more distinctly seen; and he judged that she could at that time be only some four miles distant, showing that in the past three hours they had gained some three miles on her, which was good sailing. They were also, at this time, a good mile to the westward of the starboard quarter of the _Tiger_, and, if anything, edging a trifle more to starboard of her as they went along. The reason for this was that the captain did not wish to pass the _Tiger_ at a less distance than a mile; because, although it certainly was a very dark night, on even the blackest of nights, if the weather be clear, there is always a certain "loom" or faint image of a ship thrown against the sky; and this loom would be visible to sharp eyes unless the _Elizabeth_ kept some distance away from her consort. Little by little they crept up, overtaking the _Tiger_; and bit by bit her triangle of lights at the stern was becoming merged into one; then the one light became gradually eclipsed, until at length they could not see it at all, and by one o'clock in the morning they knew that they must be running parallel with the _Tiger_ and at a distance of about a mile and a half on her starboard beam. It was possible now to make out the light of her battle-lanterns in her interior, shining through her open port-holes, through which the gun muzzles also showed, all in readiness for the attack as soon as the pirate was brought to bay. As they opened her up, and came abreast of her, they could see that she was lit up fore-and-aft, and it became perfectly clear that not only was she cleared for action, but that her captain had given orders to his men to sleep at their quarters, and thus be ready for the fight at a moment's notice. Having overtaken the _Tiger_, the _Elizabeth_ began to draw ahead perceptibly, and the brilliantly lighted interior of her consort was soon eclipsed, while the bright triangle of lights at the stern of the _Good Adventure_ now showed up clearly about two and a half miles distant, broad on the port bow.