Noon
Scarcely any of the officers left the deck , except to take a hurried breakfast , and every glass on board was in requisition . Now , when the breeze freshened , we appeared to be gaining on her ; now , when it fell , she seemed to draw ahead of us . We passed between the islands of Saint John and Tortola ; we sighted the east end of Santa Cruz , and then made out the curious conical hill of Saba , to the north of Saint Eustatia . Noon had passed , and the wind again freshening , we gained rapidly on the chase . The look-out aloft hailed that he saw several sail right ahead . It was a question whether they were English or French . If the latter , the brig might lead us under their guns , and it was necessary to be cautious .