And, in fact, as he talked, the great maintop-sail of the Spanish ship was filled, and her bows, falling off from the wind and pointing to us, she moved slowly out to meet us. As she drew near, I could not help thinking that she was the same vessel which had chased the ‘Will-o’-the-Wisp.’ At any rate, she had the same richly-carved bows, full of figures of angels and saints, and the same goodly fabric of rigging towering up against the blue sky. Presently, she hove-to again, our small sails being becalmed under her lee, and Captain Garbo, with two of his men, went aboard her in the small canoe which the bark carried. As for myself, I did not care to trust my neck on board a Spanish man-of-war. Indeed, I kept as much out of sight as I very well could, pretending to be busy about a thousand little matters on board the bark. I noted, however, that the Spaniard bore twelve great guns upon either side, besides double batteries upon forecastle and poop. Her high decks swarmed with men, who scrambled over into her chains and out at her port-holes, and chatted with the Spanish part of the bark’s crew, and mocked and gibed at Wooroo as he sat upon his hams on the deck, taking no more notice of what was said to him than the mast. Presently the captain returned with a card in his hand, whereon was inscribed the station of the bark upon the bank. Each boat had its own appointed place; and the frigate was there not only to protect the fleet against Buccaneers, but to enforce the rules which the Spanish government, to whom the fishery belongs, lays down to be observed by the barks which prosecute it. The pearl bank extends for a great many miles in length and one in breadth, there being a deep channel about three or four leagues broad between its inmost edge and the land. Our position was towards the eastern extremity of the bank, and so we beat up towards it, passing many of the anchored boats, who hailed us cheerily, and asked what news from Carthagena. As we sailed along, we saw the divers, all of them either Indian or negroes, standing often upon the edge of the boats, poising their bodies for a moment, and then plunging head-foremost down into the sea. Some of the fleet were more deeply laden than others, that depending upon the number of the oysters which chanced to lie scattered under each boat. As soon as the cargo is made up, the pearl fisherman weighs, hoists his lug sails, and runs in for the shore; but if the frigate fires two guns, one close after the other, he must lie-to, until a boat from the big ship comes and gives him leave to proceed. Although the rule, however, is, that each boat fishes and sails for itself, without attending to its neighbours, yet the convoy always tries as far as possible to arrange matters, so that the fleet may sail in a body to the shore, the frigate attending them to windward. If it be suspected that there are Buccaneers upon the coast, the ordinary rule