" he observed.
"We must get up to her, and try to render her assistance. If she's not
to be got off, we shall have to take her people on board."

"Has she been driven by a gale on the reef, do you think?" I asked.

"No; I should say that she was brought up by it, and that the tide has
since fallen, leaving her in her present position, so that when it rises
she may be got off."

While we were speaking the sails gave several flaps against the masts, a
sign that the wind had suddenly fallen, and we lay becalmed. This was
the more tantalising as we were anxious to go to the assistance of the
ship.

I went below to inform the captain, who at once came on deck, and, after
looking round the horizon, said that he thought a breeze would soon
again spring up, and that we would then stand towards the ship and see
what we could do, adding, "in the meantime, as the tide rises she may
probably haul off without our assistance."

"I should like to take one of the boats and pull on board her," observed
Uncle Jack.

"As it must be several hours before you could be back again, the weather
might in the meantime change; so that I cannot consent to your going,"
answered the captain, in a tone which prevented the first mate from
making a reply.

Still Uncle Jack, not satisfied, walked the deck uneasily. He wished at
once to relieve the anxiety of those on board the ship by letting them
know that assistance was near should they not have observed the brig.

Hour after hour passed by, darkness came on, and still no breeze ruffled
the surface of the ocean. All night long the calm continued.

As soon as daylight broke, I was again aloft looking out for the ship.
There she lay in the same position as before; it was evident that
whatever exertions had been made to get her off, they had been
unsuccessful. I was about to come on deck again, when, sweeping my
glass round to the northward, I made out another island of large size
apparently. Between it and where the ship lay I fancied that I could
distinguish a number of small black dots, so faint, however, that had I
not steadied my glass, which was a very good one, I should not have
observed them. Recollecting what we had heard about the pirate fleet, a
fear seized me at once that they might be prahus, and that they were on
their way to pillage the wreck, which they must have discovered while
lying off the northern island. Whether they had discovered us it was
impossible to say, but