But for this sudden change of course, the Montauk would have run
down dead upon the corvette, and possibly might have passed her
undetected, owing to the change made in her appearance by the spars of the
Dane. So long as she continued "bows on," standing towards them, not a
soul on board the Foam suspected her real character, though, now that she
acted so strangely, and offered her broadside to view, the truth became
known in an instant. The main-yard of the corvette was swung, and her
sails were filled on the same course as that on which the packet was
steering. The two vessels were about ten miles from the land, the Foam a
little ahead, but fully a league to leeward. The latter, however, soon
tacked and stood in-shore. This brought the vessels nearly abreast of each
other, the corvette a mile or more, dead to leeward, and distant now some
six miles from the coast. The great superiority of the corvette's sailing
was soon apparent to all on board both vessels, for she apparently went
two feet to the packet's one.
The history of this meeting, so unexpected to Captain Truck, was very
simple. When the gale had abated, the corvette, which had received no
damage, hauled up along the African coast, keeping as near as possible to
the supposed track of the packet, and failing to fall in with her chase,
she had filled away for New York.
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