At first the only thing that we could clearly distinguish was that she was a full-rigged ship--as were the _Virginia_ and the _Preciosa_-- but, even so, there were certain details connected with her rig which, while not being exactly peculiar, corresponded with similar details referred to in the description of the two notorious slavers, as ascertained by Captain Perry; I therefore made a lantern signal to the _Eros_--under the shelter of our mainsail, so that the stranger to leeward might not see our lights and take the alarm--calling attention to the fact that there was a suspicious sail in sight to the south-west; and this signal was simply acknowledged without comment.
