noon
At six o'clock next morning we were fortunate enough to fall in with the prize -- a barque of about 800 tons , loaded with various products of the East , forming , as Captain Alphonse Latour had truly remarked , a very valuable cargo -- she had been steering a course which threw her fairly into our arms , so to speak ; and , as the weather had moderated , and the sea gone down a good deal we simply ran her on board , drove the astonished French prize crew below , and took possession . On instituting a search , we found that the astute skipper of `` Le Narcisse '' had taken out the entire crew except the second mate and three hands -- whom he had left on board to assist in working the ship -- so as to prevent all possibility of a rising and a recapture . We transferred the Frenchmen to the `` Vigilant ; '' put eight of our own men on board , in charge of young Smellie ; and then made sail in company for Gibraltar . As , however , the `` Vigilant '' sailed two feet to the barque 's one , we had run her completely out of sight by noon ; and we could only hope that she would reach the Rock in safety -- which she luckily did , and we of the `` Vigilant '' ultimately netted a good round sum in the shape of prize - money on her account . About three p.m. on the same day as that on which we took our prize , we made another sail dead to windward , steering the same way as ourselves , but rather edging down upon us . We must have sighted each other simultaneously ; for , while still examining him with my telescope , I saw him bear up upon a course evidently intended to cut us off . The `` Vigilant , '' however , continued to steer the same course as before ; my intention being to try the same trick with him -- in the event of his being a Frenchman -- which had succeeded so well with `` Le Narcisse '' ; and if he was an Englishman , I had of course nothing to fear .