boatswain
passed the telescope over to Chips he turned to me eagerly and looked at
me hard with _so_ expressive an eye that I instantly read what was in
his mind. I shook my head.

"We could never do it, Murdock," I said. "She's too far to the
south'ard. Had she borne three, or even a couple of points farther to
the nor'ard I might have felt inclined to risk it; but--"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Cunningham. "Is it a question of
whether we can or cannot intercept that ship? Because if it is, I am
most emphatically in favour of our making the attempt. Mind you, I do
not say that we can actually intercept her; but I believe we might
manage to get close enough to her to be seen, for she is almost certain
to have a man or two aloft at work upon her rigging."

"Yes, ye're right, Mr Cunnin'ham; that's exactly my notion," eagerly
agreed the boatswain. "I believe that by runnin' away off in about this
here direction," pointing away toward the south--east, "we ought to lift
her pretty nigh to her rail by the time that she draws up abreast of us;
and if we can do that we stands a very good chance of bein' seen. I
haven't no great faith in our prospec's of fetchin' Rio; and if we gets
half a chance of bein' picked up by a ship, we ought to take it.
Moreover than that, I don't like the look of the weather none too well;
and I'd a deal rather spend the comin' night aboard that ship than in
this here gig."

There was certainly good, sound reason and common sense in Murdock's
words, and particularly in what he said about the weather; so I turned
to the carpenter, to ascertain his view of the matter.

"What do you say, Chips?" I asked. "Are you of opinion that we shall
be justified in losing ten or fifteen miles of ground upon the
off-chance of being able to close with yonder craft near enough to be
seen?"

"Why, yes, Mr Temple, I certainly am," answered Chips. "I won't go so
far as to say that we'll be actually able to manage it; but I think it's
our dooty to have a good try for it. I'm like the bos'n, I've got a
sort of feelin' that we ain't goin' to fetch Rio this trip--"

"All right, then," I said; "you three constitute the majority, even if
Sails happens to think as I do--"

"Ah, but I don't, Mr Temple!" interrupted Simpson. "I agrees with the
bos'n--"

"Then round we go," I interrupted in my turn; and, putting the helm hard
up, I bore away, the sail jibed over, and off we went almost dead befo