culation convinced me that while it would take me about
thirty-six days to beat to windward the shorter distance, I might cover
the longer, running pleasantly before the wind, in about twenty-four
days, allowing, in both cases, for the boat being hove-to throughout the
night to enable me to obtain necessary rest. Fortunately, I had with me
not only the chart of the North Atlantic, but also a chronometer,
sextant, nautical almanac, and boat compass; I was therefore equipped
with every requisite for the efficient navigation of the boat, and had
no fear of losing my way. I could consequently without hesitation
choose what I considered to be the most desirable course, and it did not
need any very profound reflection to convince me that this was to make
the best of my way back to Barbadoes. I accordingly put up my helm,
kept away before the wind, shook out all my reefs, and went sliding away
to the westward, easily and comfortably, at a speed of some six knots
per hour.

The weather had by this time reverted to quite its normal condition; the
trade-wind was blowing steadily, the sea had gone down, and I had
nothing worse than a somewhat heavy swell to contend with; I therefore
felt that, unless I should be so unfortunate as to fall in with another
gale, there was no reason at all why I should not reach my destination
safely, and without very much discomfort. My only trouble was that,
running, as the boat now was, with the wind so far over the starboard
quarter, I dared not release my hold upon the tiller for an instant,
lest she should broach-to and, possibly, capsize. Whenever, therefore,
it became necessary for me to quit the helm for the purpose of taking an
astronomical observation, or otherwise, I had to heave-to, and,
occasionally, to shorten sail while doing so, which kept me pretty
actively employed, off and on, all day. Thus, about nine o'clock in the
morning, I had to heave-to and leave the boat to take care of herself
while I secured observations of the sun for the determination of the
longitude; the same procedure had to be adopted again at noon when I
took the sun's altitude for the determination of the latitude; and the
preparation of a meal involved a further repetition of the manoeuvre.
Thus I had no time to feel lonely, at least during the hours of
daylight; but after nightfall, surrounded and hemmed in by the gloom and
mystery of the darkness, with no companionship save that of the
multitudinous stars