I say again that if Jack Baldwin had not had the deck at that time there would never have been any story to tell of Tom Granger, for if Jack had hesitated only so much as two seconds, as I am afraid that Tom would have done in his case, the _Nancy Hazlewood_ would have been run down just as sure as that there is a sun in the heavens. So the danger went by, and all was over in a quarter of the time that it takes to tell it. The head-yards were braced up, the head-sheets were gathered aft, the _Nancy Hazlewood_ stood away on her course again, and the next moment plunged into the fog and was gone. But, in the meantime, they had wakened up aboard of the frigate, and just as the _Nancy Hazlewood_ ran into the bank they heard an order shouted aboard of the man-of-war, sounding faint because of the distance that the two vessels had now run: “Weather head, and main; lee cro’ jack braces!” That meant that the frigate was about to wear, follow down in their wake and do that which she had so nearly missed doing a minute before—finish up the Yankee. Tom came aft, and, though he would have felt like knocking the man down that would have said so at the time, his hands were cold and trembling nervously. For the matter of that, Jack Baldwin’s face was whiter than it was used to be. “A close shave, sir,” said he to Captain Knight, who stood beside him; but there was a nervous tremor in his voice in spite of the boldness that he assumed. Indeed, the only perfectly cool man aboard was Captain Knight. He stood looking aft, as though he would pierce the fog and make out what the vessel astern of him was about. Presently he turned to Jack. “Did you not understand from that order that he was about to ware ship, Mr. Baldwin?” said he. “I think that I understood them to give such an order, sir,” said Jack. Captain Knight drew out his snuff box and took a pinch of snuff. “I understood it so,” said he, shutting the lid of the box with a snap and sliding it into his pocket again. He stood for about a couple of minutes looking, now up at the sails and now straight ahead; presently he turned to Jack again. “Bring her by the wind on the starboard tack, Mr. Baldwin,” said he. “We’ll slip out of this neighborhood on somewhat the same course that the Englishman held a few minutes ago, and leave him groping about here in this infernal blindness for us.” It seemed to Tom that Captain Knight had done a wise thing in taking the course that he did to get away from the Englishman. If the fog should lift, and they should find that the frigate had the weather gauge, they might get into a nasty pickle, whereas this course would give _them_ the weather gauge and every chance to get away. After a while Captain Knight told Jack to set the fore-topmast stay sail, and then, after some hesitation, to set the royals. It was quite plain that he had made up his mind to crack on sail, so as to gain as much to the windward of the frigate as he could.