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The day was nearly done; only the hem of his golden robe was rustling. Soon it was almost dark, but the look-out men still remained unset. "Can't see the spout now, sir; too dark" cried a voice from the air. "How heading when last seen?" "As before, sir, straight to leeward." "Good! he will travel slower now 'tis night. Down royals and top-gallant stunsails, Mr. Starbuck.
Our lads flew aloft like lightning, and away we went staggering to leeward, with stunsails alow and aloft on the port side, steering a course which would take us pretty directly up Channel.
"Here comes the breeze, Bob!" I exclaimed. "Stay on deck a few minutes longer until we can see what is to be the order of the night. See, there it comes, away out from the eastward; and the brig is already squaring away his yards, as though he felt the first faint puffs. Ay," continued I, as I took a look at him through the glass, "there go his stunsail-booms, and there go his stunsails to boot.
If it's not blowing too hard when ye come on deck in the middle watch ye may give her the stunsails; it'll look more ship-shape, and as if we were in a hurry to make the coast and get our cargo aboard, if we happen to be overhauled by anybody in the same line of business, and the deuce of a fear have I now of outsailing any of them that may happen to be in the neighbourhood.
We had just completed the bending of the trysail, when away to windward of us, not more than a quarter of a mile distant, we observed a large ship running down directly upon us before the wind, under topgallant stunsails. The Lily was almost stationary at the time; and the ship was heading as straight as she possibly could for us.
The words came clear to his ear, and just outside he could hear two men pacing backwards and forwards upon the deck. And yet he was helpless, staring down the mouth of the nine-pounder, unable to move an inch or to utter so much as a groan. Again there came the burst of voices from the deck of the barque. So it's up and it's over to Stornoway Bay, Pack it on! Crack it on! Try her with stunsails!
On arriving off "Egypt" we were able to edge away a little, and then stunsails were set on the starboard side in both ships, still, however, without altering our relative positions. As the sun declined toward the horizon the wind gradually dropped, finally dying away altogether, and leaving us absolutely motionless save for the drift of the ebb-tide, which still swept us along to the westward.
But our worthy "first" speedily justified his boast; for his shot struck the boom-iron at the Frenchman's larboard fore-yard-arm, snapping it off, unshipping the boom, and creating a very pretty state of confusion with the topmast and lower stunsails and their gear.
Accordingly, the boats now made for her, and were soon swayed up to their cranes the two parts of the wrecked boat having been previously secured by her and then hoisting everything to her side, and stacking her canvas high up, and sideways outstretching it with stunsails, like the double-jointed wings of an albatross; the Pequod bore down in the leeward wake of Moby Dick.
But we were to windward of the galley, and, our stunsails coming in with a run, we were able to haul close upon a wind almost as quickly as the galley, when the latter now depending upon her oars alone the schooner proved to be considerably the faster of the two, thus effectually cutting off our antagonist's escape in that direction.
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