converging obliquely upon
her own, we might be able to intercept her; or, if not that, we might at
least be able to approach her nearly enough to make ourselves seen. It
was worth attempting, I thought, for even though, in the event of
failure, we should find ourselves in the end many miles more distant
from Corvo than we then were, I attached but little importance to that;
my conviction now being stronger than ever that our only hope of
deliverance lay in being picked up, rather than in our being able to
reach the Azores, or any other land. Noting carefully, therefore, the
bearings of the stranger, and especially the fact that she appeared to
be running dead to leeward, with squared yards, I made my way aft again,
took the tiller, watched for a favourable opportunity, and succeeded in
getting the gig before the wind without shipping very much water. Once
fairly before the wind, the boat was able to bear a considerably greater
spread of canvas than while hove-to; indeed an increase of sail
immediately became an imperative necessity in order to avoid being
caught and overrun, or pooped, by the sea; moreover we had to catch that
ship, if we could. We therefore shook out a couple of reefs, and then
went to breakfast; treating ourselves to as good a meal as the
circumstances would permit.

The gig being double-ended, and modelled somewhat after the fashion of a
whale-boat, scudded well and no longer shipped any water; our condition,
therefore, was greatly improved, and running before the gale, as we now
were, the strength of the wind was not so severely felt, nor did the
chill of the blast penetrate our saturated clothing so cruelly as while
we were hove-to. Our clothes gradually dried upon us, we baled out the
boat, and in the course of an hour or so began to experience something
approaching a return to comfort. Meanwhile, at frequent intervals, the
bearing and distance of the strange sail was ascertained, and our
spirits rose as, with every observation, the chances of our ultimately
succeeding in intercepting her grew more promising. Another result of
these observations, however, was the unwelcome discovery that the
stranger was travelling at a considerably faster pace than we had at
first credited her with; and that only the nicest and most accurate
judgment with regard to our own course would enable us to close with
her.

That in itself, however, was not sufficient to occasion us any very
grave anxiety, for we