king
sail we were a mile to leeward of the ship; and with the steady
freshening of the breeze we continued to increase our distance from her.

The day at length broke, disclosing a sea ruffled to a hue of purest
sapphire, flecked with little ridges of snowy foam by the whipping of
the now fresh breeze, under a sky of blue, dappled with small, wool-like
white clouds that came sailing up, squadron after squadron, out of the
north-east, at a speed that told of a fiery breeze in the higher reaches
of the atmosphere; and a sharp look-out for the gleaming canvas of a
passing ship was at once instituted, but without result. About half an
hour later the skipper, who was but a short distance to leeward of us,
waved us to close; and when we had done so the long-boat and the gig ran
down in company to the other boats in succession, Captain Chesney
ordering each, as we passed, to follow him, until we finally all found
ourselves near the jolly-boat, which was the most leewardly boat of all.
The little flotilla then closed round the long-boat, which had been
hove-to, and the skipper, standing up in the stern-sheets, addressed us:

"Gentlemen," said he, "it is, as you may well imagine, a great
disappointment to me to discover that the boats exhibit such very poor
weatherly qualities, since it renders it plain that, unless something
can be done to improve them in that respect, it will be useless for us
to think of carrying out my original plan of making for the Azores in
the teeth of the present foul wind. A plan has occurred to me that may
possibly have the effect of helping the boats to go to windward, and I
should like you all to try it. If it answers, well and good; if it does
not, I am afraid there will be nothing for it but for us to try for the
Canaries, which are considerably further away from us than the Azores,
but which also lie much further to the southward, and consequently
afford us a better chance, with the wind as it now is.

"And now as to my plan for helping the boats to turn to windward. They
are all fitted with bottom-boards; and I am of opinion that, if the
triangular bottom-board in the stern-sheets is suspended over the lee
side amidships by means of short lengths of line bent on to two of the
corners, the arrangement will serve as a lee-board, and the boats will
go to windward, although their speed may be slightly decreased. At all
events I should like to give the plan a trial; so get your bottom-boards
r