out."

"She must be standing to the westward, then, and will, I hope, pass
inside of us, should the breeze spring up again from the same quarter,"
observed Bill. "She's probably French, or she would not be so close in
with the coast."

"As to that, our cruisers stand in close enough at times, and she may be
English notwithstanding," answered Jack.

"Unless we are certain that she's English we shall be wiser to avoid
her," remarked Bill, "so we'll pull away to the nor'ard."

"But what do you think of the ship out there?" asked Jack, pointing
ahead.

"I cannot help believing that she's English," said Bill. "We must run
the chance of being seen by her. We shall have to pull on a good many
hours, however, first, and when the breeze springs up, she'll pretty
quickly run either to the eastward or westward."

The boys, however, after all their remarks, could arrive at no
conclusion. They rowed and rowed, but still appeared not to have moved
their position with regard either to the shore or the two vessels in
sight.

The sun rose high above their heads and struck down with considerable
force; but they cared little for the heat, though it made them apply
more frequently than they otherwise would have done to their water-cask.
Bill had more than once to warn Jack not to drink too much.

The day was drawing on, and at last Jack proposed that they should have
another rest and take some dinner. "There's no use starving ourselves,
and the more we eat the better we shall be able to pull," he said.

Bill was not quite of this opinion. At the same time he agreed to
Jack's proposal, as his arms were becoming very weary.

They had just finished their dinner when Jack, getting up on the chest
in which the mast was stepped, so that he might have a better look-out,
exclaimed, "I see a sail between us and the land. The sun just now
glanced on it. There's a breeze in shore, depend on it, and it will
reach us before long."

Bill jumped up to have a look-out also. He could not distinguish the
sail, but he thought by the darker colour of the water to the southward
that a breeze was playing over it, though it had not as yet got as far
as they were. They again took to their oars and pulled on. Jack,
however, occasionally turned round to look to the southward, for he
entertained the uncomfortable idea that they were pursued.

They were now, they agreed, nearer the ship to the northward. Her lofty
sails must have caught a l