Certainly she would not stay in these waters.
"The question is, how can we disguise ourselves?
If we took down our mizzen and dirtied the rest of our sails, it would not be much of a disguise.

Nothing but a yacht carries anything like as big a mainsail as ours, and our big jib and foresail, and the straight bowsprit would tell the tale.

Of course, we could fasten some wooden battens along her side, and stretch canvas over them, and paint it black, and so raise her side three feet, but even then the narrowness of her hull, seen end on as it would be, in comparison to the height of the mast and spread of canvas, would strike Carthew at once." "We could follow his example, sir, and make her into a brig.

I dare say we could get it done in a week." "That might spoil her sailing, and as soon as he found that we were in chase of him, he would at once suspect that something was wrong.
That would, of all things, be the worst, especially if he found--which would be just as likely as not--that he had the legs of us.
"I believe the most certain way of all would be to search for her in the boats.

If we were to paint the gig black, so that it would not attract attention, give a coating of grey paint to the oars, and hire a black crew, we could coast along and stop at every village, and search every bay, and row far enough up each river to find some village or hut where we could learn whether the Phantom has been in the habit of going up there.