3 p.m.
Still the _ Gannet _ , it was soon seen , sailed faster than she did , and Guadaloupe was scarcely visible on the horizon . The breeze freshened , the corvette tore with foam-covered bows through the blue glittering ocean . At 11 a.m. she had made sail . By 3 p.m. she had got the stranger within range of her long guns . `` She is remarkably like an English ship , and from the way she is handled , I think she must be a prize , with a small crew on board , '' observed the first to the second lieutenant . After a few shots , the stranger 's main-topsail-yard was shot away , when she brought to , and proved to be the _ Swift _ , a British merchant ship , bound to Barbadoes , a prize to the frigate the _ Gannet _ had just beaten off . Mr Nott , with ten men , including True Blue and Tim Fid , were sent on board to work her ; and as , instead of deserving the name of the _ Swift _ , she was more worthy of that of the _ Tub _ , the _ Gannet _ took her in tow , hoping to carry her to Barbadoes .