I have already described many chases, so I will not enter into particulars. Hour after hour passed, and we seemed to be no nearer to her; still we had not lost ground, and, from her pertinacity in endeavouring to get away from us, we of course fancied that she was the more worth having. The longest day must have an end, and so had this. At its termination, when night was coming on, we were very little nearer the chase than at daybreak. Still we hoped that a shift of wind might enable us to get up with her, or that a calm might come on and allow us to reach her with our boats. But neither one thing nor the other occurred. Night came down upon us, and not the sharpest pair of eyes on board could pierce through the dark mantle which shrouded her. Some thought they saw her stealing off in one direction; others declared they saw her steering an opposite course. The result was that when morning broke, our expected prize had escaped us, and we were compelled to stand back and rejoin our consorts, like a dog with his tail between his legs. We had hopes, however, of being able in some degree to indemnify ourselves for our loss, when, on the 2nd of August, about two hours before daylight, the shadowy outline of a ship was seen dead to leeward between us and the land, the wind being somewhere from the south-west. Now she was there, ghostlike and indistinct, a spirit gliding over the face of the waters; now as I looked she had disappeared and I could scarcely believe that I had seen her. "Can you make her out?" said I to Grampus, who was a quarter-master in my watch. The old man hollowed his hands round his eyes and took a long steady gaze into the darkness ahead. "I did see her just a few minutes afor' you spoke to me, sir, but smash my timbers if I sees her now!" he exclaimed, suiting the action to the word. "Where is she gone to?" "She has altered her course or a bank of mist is floating by between us," I suggested. "That's it, sir," said he; "I wouldn't be surprised but what she'd heave in sight again afor' long, except she's one of those craft one hears talk of, aboard of whom there's no living man with flesh and blood to work them. If so be she is, I'd rather not fall in with her." I laughed. "No fear of that," said I; "she has been reported to the captain, and we shall be making all sail in chase presently. We shall then soon find out what she's made of." "Much as we did the schooner two days ago," muttered Grampus, as I left him. "I don't know what's come over the ship that she don't walk along faster."