Chapter 49:
- The Alabama passes through the Strait of Sunda, seeing nothing of the Wyoming -- burns the winged Racer just inside the Strait -- the Malay boatmen and their alarm -- Alabama makes for the Gaspar Strait, and burns the contest, after an exciting chase -- passes through the Carimata passage -- discharges her prisoners into an English ship -- miniature sea-serpents -- the currents -- Pulo Condore -- arrival at Singapore
Soon after anchoring as described in the last chapter, we had a false alarm. It was reported that a bark some distance off had suddenly taken in all sail, and turned her head in our direction, as though she were a steamer coming in chase. Orders were given to get up steam, to be ready for any emergency, but countermanded in a few minutes, when upon a partial lifting of the rain-clouds, it was ascertained that the strange sail was a merchant-ship and had only taken in her top-gallant sails to a squall, and clewed down her topsails, to reef. She was indeed coming in our direction, but it was only to take shelter for the night. She was a Dutch bark from Batavia, for the west coast of Sumatra. The next morning, we got under way, at an early hour, to pass through the Strait of Sunda into the China Sea. We hove up our anchor in the midst of a heavy rain-squall, but the weather cleared as the day advanced, and a fresh and favorable wind soon sprang up. We ran along by Keyser Island, and at half-past 10 lowered the propeller and put the ship under steam. Under both steam and sail we made rapid headway. We passed between the high and picturesque islands
