softest of breezes from the west. But my boat lay behind her
again; and I did not stir from my restful position until it was full
dark; though the going down of the sun had left a clear night and a
zenith richly set with a shimmer of stars, which did not give any great
promise to my thoughts of coming freedom.

When I deemed that I had waited long enough, and had assured myself
that the later night would not be more auspicious for the attempt, I
cut away the remaining ropes at my feet, and crouched unbound in the
boat. There was good watch upon the ship, I knew, for I could hear the
"All's well!" as the bells were struck, and the passing of the orders
from the poop to the fo'castle. This did not deter me; and, being
determined to stake all rather than face the terrors of the nameless
ship, I crawled to the bow, and began to cut the strands of the hawser
one by one. The rope was very thick and hard, and the knife which I had
stolen was blunt, so that the work was prodigiously slow and difficult;
and when I had been at it for half an hour or more, I was interrupted
in a way that sent my heart almost into my mouth. There was a man
standing on the poop of the _Labrador_, and he seemed to be watching my
occupation. I threw myself flat instantly, and listened to his hail.

"Ahoy, there, young 'un, are you getting a chill?" cried a bluff voice,
which I did not recognise; but presently the man Four-Eyes hailed also,
and I heard him say--

"If it's dead ye are, will ye be sending word up to us?" and, seeing
the mood, I bawled with all my strength--

"I'm all right; but I'll call out for some more of that soup of yours
just now."

They gave a great shout, and one of them said--

"You ken calcerlate ez you will be gettin' it all nice en' hot when you
meet the old 'un in the mornin'"; and the crew roared with laughter at
the sally, and disappeared one by one from the poop. Then I whipped out
my knife again, and with a few vigorous strokes I cut the rope clean
through, and felt my boat go swirling away on the backwash. It was a
moment of supreme excitement, and I lay quite flat, waiting to hear if
I were missed; but I heard no sound, and looking round presently, I saw
the yacht away a mile, and I knew that I was a free man.

The delight of the enterprise would have been intense if my unexpected
success had not allowed me to forget one thing when I had made my hasty
plans. _There were no oars in the boat._ The terrible truth c