‘She must have been stealthily sneaking down upon us,’ I exclaimed, ‘to occupy her present position, otherwise she should be a league distant out on the beam. But then such a hull as that must yield to a catspaw that wouldn’t blow a feather out of the _Countess Ida’s_ mizzen-top. What has been seen to excite misgiving, Mr. Prance?’ ‘Too many of a crew, sir,’ he answered; ‘the outline of a long-tom on her forecastle, but ill-concealed by the raffle thrown over it. Six guns of a side, Mr. Dugdale, though the closed ports hide their grins.’ ‘She will not attempt anything with a big chap like us, surely.’ At that moment the captain called him, and he walked aft. Presently, it sensibly darkened, as though to the passage of some denser sheet of vapour crawling through the heart of the obscurity on high. The sea turned of an oil-like smoothness, and ran in folds as of liquid bottle-green glass out of the grimy shadow that was slowly thickening all away round the ocean limit. The order was given to furl the clewed-up sails and to reef the topsails. The boatswain’s pipe summoned all hands to this work, and the ship for a while was full of life and commotion. However, by this time the secret of old Keeling’s uneasiness had in some way leaked out; in fact, the skipper could no longer have kept the people in ignorance of his suspicions; for some ten minutes or so before the tiffin bell rang, after the hands had come down from aloft, the order was quietly sent along to see all clear for action; and as I took my seat at table, being close to the cuddy front, as my chair brought me with a clear view of the quarter-deck through the open windows, I could observe the men preparing our little show of carronades, removing the tompions, placing rams, sponges, train-tackles, and the like at hand, and passing shot and chests of small-arms through the main hatch. Captain Keeling, stiff, and bolstered up as usual in his brass-buttoned frock coat, his face of a deeper rubicund from some recent touch of soap and towel, seated himself at the head of the table; but Prance and the other mates remained on deck. One noticed a deal of uneasiness amongst the ladies, saving Miss Temple whose haughty beautiful face wore its ordinary impassive expression. There was no coquetry in the startled eyes that Miss Hudson rolled around. Mrs. Bannister fanned herself vehemently, and ate nothing. There were some of us males, too, who looked as if we didn’t like it. Mr. Emmett was exceedingly thoughtful; Mr. Fairthorne drank thirstily, and pulled incessantly at his little sprouting moustache; Mr. Hodder watched old Keeling continuously; and Mr. Riley made much of his eye-glass. Nothing to the point was said for a little while; then the colonel rapped out: ‘I say, captain, have you any notion as to the nationality of that chap whom your people are making ready to resist?’