e only
just clear of the horizon.

Mr Howard cast an inquiring eye about him, and his gaze fell upon me.

"Mr Delamere," he said, "you have a good glass. Just jump below and
get it, if you please, and then shin up as far as the main royal-yard
and see what you can make out concerning those strangers."

I did as directed, the hands who had been aloft meeting me in the
maintop on their way down.

"What do the strange craft look like, Simmons?" I asked of the smartest
of the party.

"Well, sir," he replied, "as we told Mr Howard, a few minutes ago, we
can't make much out of 'em as yet; they'm too far off for that. But
I've got pretty good eyes, Mr Delamere, and I think when you brings
that glass o' yours to bear on 'em that you'll find one on 'em's got her
r'yals stowed, while t'other has hers set. Likewise I've a sort of a
notion that if you stays aloft for a matter o' ten minutes or so you'll
find that there's three on 'em, instead o' two; at all events just as I
was layin' 'im off the yard I thought I catched a glimpse of somethin'
showin' now and again that looked like the canvas of another craft just
liftin' over the 'orizon."

"Thanks, Simmons," said I, "I'll keep a lookout for number three. If
she really exists, she ought to declare herself unmistakably within the
next few minutes. By the bye, I suppose they are heading this way?"

"To the best o' my knowledge and belief they be, sir," the man answered.
"We wasn't on the yard long enough to make exactly sure, but it seemed
to me that, even durin' the minute or two that elapsed after we first
catched sight of 'em, they lifted a bit."

"Thanks," I said again. "We shall soon see." And I sprang into the
topmast rigging and proceeded on my way aloft, while Simmons swung
himself down over the rim of the top.

I soon reached my destination and seated myself comfortably on the
royal-yard, with my back resting against the mast under my lee. From
this elevation the strangers were distinctly visible to the naked eye,
for the atmosphere was as clear as crystal; and, even before I had
established myself to my liking, my unaided sight had assured me that
Simmons' supposition was correct, and that there were three sail,
instead of two, to the southward; for the object that the topman had
only believed he saw elusively appearing and vanishing on the verge of
the distant horizon now stood out clear and sharp as a tiny patch of
canvas, showing milk-white in the mo