Favoured by wind and current, we were now steaming at a good speed into the Atlantic, slowly but surely turning away from the coast so as to raise no suspicion. Shall we succeed?... I would really have preferred to see the sky overcast and a good high sea running. That would have been the best protection against the English patrol ships. It was, however, now and afterwards, most beautiful clear weather. Not a wisp of smoke was visible on the horizon. We had still nearly four hours of daylight in front of us. I need not tell how anxiously we all waited for the sun to go down. In view of our successful flight from Tralee the crew were already busy with plans for the future. They thought we could now start at once on our war with the dummy guns. They were so pleased with the imminent prospect of commerce-raiding that they sang all sorts of lively songs to the accompaniment of a concertina, and in order to avoid spoiling their fun I did not let them notice how little enthusiasm I have for concerts of this sort. Towards 6 p.m., a smoke-cloud was noticed in the south-west, which grew larger every moment and rapidly came nearer. Soon afterwards we noticed a second smoke-cloud, and it came so close after the first that it was evidently from the same vessel. So we had a two-funnelled steamer ahead of us. Then the mastheads came in view, the wireless-masts, and the spotting-top. There could be no doubt about it--she was an English warship. We estimated that she was doing at least twenty knots. If we now tried to run away at our tramp-steamer speed she would catch us in a hour--if she did not honour us before then with a shell. So carry on! only cool heads could help us now--together with a fair amount of impudence. The warship was travelling at top speed, and it was not long before her upper works and then the whole of her hull came into view. It was an auxiliary cruiser, one of the fast channel steamers which in peace-time ply between England and France. By this time we were, of course, at action stations on board the _Aud_; that is to say, all preparations had been made for blowing up the ship, the suspicious material was all packed away in the 'magic-box,' the engines were at half-speed, and I myself was marching dead slow up and down the bridge. We were once more the old tramp-crew of a few days before.