ly to be hoped that presently some summer breeze might suffer us
to lay our course southward or eastward, toward the land where we
might find haven and help.

Now Bertric set us to work, and we had little or no trouble, for
the breeze fell altogether very quickly. The sheet had fouled the
great cleat which was bolted to the deck beams amidships aft for
the backstay, and that was easily cleared. Then we swung the yard
fore and aft, Dalfin hauling as he was bidden, with fixed intent to
haul till further orders, which was all we needed from him. Then
Bertric would have two reefs taken in, for we could not tell what
weather we might meet, or for how long we might have to stay on
board without help. The foot of the sail was wet, as with heavy
rain.

"We can take no chances," he said. "Yet it is likely that we shall
have a ship or two in chase of us shortly. It is a wonder to me
that we have seen none yet. But word will go along the coast of what
has happened. It is not the first time that a carelessly-moored
vessel has got adrift in a calm, and found a breeze for herself,
while her sail was hoisted to dry in the sun."

Now, all we had to do was to carry forward the tack and set it up
for reaching, and to do that we had to climb over the fagots at the
foot of the penthouse, and the gunwale end of the timbers they
rested on, the run of the deck being blocked altogether by the
pile. Seeing that when the ship was to be put about the square sail
had to be lowered, brought aft round the mast and rehoisted on the
other board, the unhandiness of the thing was terribly unseamanlike.
Bertric and I grumbled and wondered at it the while we worked, only
hoping that by some stroke of luck we might be able to reach a haven
without having to shift the sail. It was to the starboard of the
mast now, which would serve us well if the wind came from east or
north, as was most likely.

Maybe that was an hour's work, and we had done all we might. By
that time the breeze had altogether gone, and the ship floated idly
on still, bright water, with the hush of the night round us. There
was time to tow her head round when we knew whence the morning wind
would blow.

Bertric coiled down the fall of the tack purchase, and nodded to
Dalfin. "Food now, if there is to be any," he said. "What is in yon
kettle?"

Now that we were forward we had seen that against this end of the
penthouse no fagots had been piled. The red and white striped
awnings of