Now we discovered that our task was not going to be nearly so easy as we had at first thought, for in the very light breath of wind that was then blowing--and which was wholly insufficient to keep our lower canvas "asleep"--the stranger undoubtedly had the heels of us, slipping along so fast, indeed, that within a quarter of an hour of tacking we were running off with the wind abeam and our weather braces checked, instead of being upon a taut bowline, as we had been at the beginning of the chase.