u do something that would spare
my deck a little?"

"Well, I am afraid that's impossible, Captain Chubb," said the doctor.

"Ah, well, sir," said the captain, with a sigh, "I suppose you must go
on; but it seems a pity when everything's so white and clean."

So the captain's decks suffered all day, and were swabbed clean again,
while that evening before the mists began to gather there was a fresh
surprise.

Rodd took it into his head to go up to the main cross-trees with the
glass. He had said nothing, but he had some idea as to the possibility
of the sloop coming into sight again, and he had made up his mind if he
could see her in the distance to give Captain Chubb a broad hint, and
urge him to press on full sail right through the night.

It was very glorious, Rodd thought, as he perched himself up aloft on
the cross-trees, after finding the heavy glass very much in his way as
he climbed.

"It's beautiful up here; but--"

He did not finish his remark to himself, but got his left arm well round
the mast, adjusted the glass, and began slowly to sweep the horizon.

He felt in a state of doubt and suspicion, fully expecting that at any
moment the tapering masts of the sloop might slowly creep into the field
ready to damp his hopes, for his feelings were completely on the side of
the men. But as slowly and carefully he ran the glass along what seemed
to be the very edge of the world, his spirits rose.

"Nothing--nothing," he kept on muttering to himself. "Oh, how big the
world is, after all! Here we are, just like a speck on the ocean, quite
alone, and though there must be thousands of ships and boats sailing
about, not one in sight, and in about another ten minutes all will be
bright starlight again--and let's see, I began here, and I've swept the
sea right round, and just in time, for before I could go round again or
half-way it will be quite dark--and--What's that?" he cried excitedly.

He started violently, and his hands trembled so that he had great
difficulty in steadying the glass to fix it upon that which had suddenly
caught his eye.

"Nothing!" he muttered impatiently. "It was my fancy. I made as sure
as possible, just as I was going to lower the glass, that I could see
the three masts of the sloop standing right out yonder towards the west.
All rubbish and imagination," he muttered. "I pictured that because it
was what I was afraid of seeing when--Oh-h-h! It wasn't fancy! There
she is! Oh, t