as put head to the rollers, changing
the motion from the tremendous rolling, when she was lying
broadside to them, for a regular rise and fall that interfered but
little with the work. A spare spar was fitted in the place of the
bowsprit, the stump of the topmast was sent down, and the
topgallant mast fitted in its place and, by midday, the light spars
were all in their places again, and the brig was showing a fair
spread of canvas; and a casual observer would, at a distance, have
noticed but slight change in her appearance.

"That has been a good morning's work," the captain said, as they
sat down to dinner. "We are a little short of head-sail, but that
will make no great difference in our rate of sailing, especially if
the wind is aft. We are ready to meet with another storm again, if
it should come--which is not likely.

"We are ready for anything, in fact, except a heavily-armed
privateer. The loss of four of our guns has crippled us. But there
was no choice about the matter; it went against my heart to see
them go overboard, but it was better to lose four guns than to lose
the ship.

"I hope we shall meet with nothing till we get through the Straits.
I may be able to pick up some guns, at Gibraltar. Prizes are often
brought in there, and condemned, and there are sales of stores; so
I hope to be able to get her into regular fighting trim, again,
before I clear out from there.

"I should think you won't be sorry when we drop anchor off the
Mole, youngster?"

"I am in no hurry, now," Bob said. "I would have given a good
deal--if I had had it--two days ago, to have been on dry land but,
now that we are all right again, I don't care how long we are,
before we get there. It is very warm and pleasant, a wonderful
change after what it was when we sailed.

"Whereabouts are we, captain?"

"We are a good bit farther to the east than I like," the captain
replied. "We have been blown a long way into the bay. There is a
great set of current, in here. We have drifted nearly fifty miles
in, since noon yesterday. We are in 4 degrees 50 minutes west
longitude, and 45 degrees latitude."

"I don't think that means anything to me."

"No, I suppose not," the captain laughed. "Well, it means we are
nearly due west of Bordeaux, and about one hundred miles from the
French coast, and a little more than eighty north of Santander, on
the Spanish coast. As the wind is sou'-sou'west we can lay our
course for Cape Ortegal and, once