noon
I thought I could see my way to improve matters a little ; so I directed the officer to launch his gun overboard , to lift the bows a little , and to shift all his movable weight as far aft as possible . I then returned to the schooner , and procured a thin sheet of lead , a dozen nails , and a hammer , and with these I contrived , with some difficulty , to pretty well stop the leak , although I was careful not to stop it too effectually , lest the officer should decide to take the risk of making his way to windward instead of to the nearest land . But I do not think I had any real ground for apprehension , for I could see that the poor fellow was thoroughly frightened ; and when I had patched up the hole , and had told him that there would be no need to use the sails , save to help him to reach Porto Bello as quickly as possible , he was overpoweringly profuse in his expressions of gratitude for my help and what he was pleased to term my `` generosity . '' It was drawing well on toward noon when at length the galley was once more in a condition to get under weigh , which she did forthwith , heading to the southward under oars and sails ; and inexpressibly thankful was I to see the last of her , and still more so to think that I had contrived to get rid of her without sending her and all her company to the bottom . Before parting I contrived to elicit from her commander that two of his consorts had proceeded to search for us in the Gulf of Darien , while three more had made the best of their way to Point Gallinas , to intercept us there in the event of our trying to make our way to the eastward . Having thus successfully shaken off our formidable foe , I crowded sail upon the schooner in pursuit of the galleon -- which all this while had , in pursuance of my orders , been running off the wind to leeward , -- and when at length we overtook her , the galley had long vanished in the south-eastern board . We consequently hauled up to the northward once more , and shaped a course for Jamaica , where , -- not to make the story too long , -- we arrived without further adventure on the fourth morning after our encounter with the galley .