d not be able to secure him unaided.
We shall not be gone long, senor, and the felucca _cannot_ drift far in
this light breeze and with so little swell running."

"N-o, I suppose not," I answered, with just the slightest imaginable
show of reluctance. "All right, senor," I continued, "away with you, by
all means; I should be sorry to spoil your sport for you. Shall I lower
the sail?"

"Not just for a moment, senor," answered Dominguez; "we must creep far
enough away that the flapping of the canvas may not wake our friend
yonder, or we shall lose him." Then, poking his head through the open
skylight, he called softly, in Spanish--

"Miguel! Miguel! come on deck at once, friend; there is a large turtle
out here floating, fast asleep, and I want to catch him."

Miguel mumbled a reply of some sort,--what it was I could not tell,--and
Dominguez briskly withdrew his head from the skylight and sprang upon
the rail, looking away out on the weather quarter for the turtle. It
was still visible, at intervals, but fully a quarter of a mile astern
now.

"There, that will do; we are far enough away now, I think," he muttered,
stepping lightly off the felucca's low rail to the deck. "Here,
Miguel," as that worthy emerged from the companion, wiping his lips with
the back of his hand, "help me to lower the sail, quick! And you, Senor
Courtenay, will you do me the favour to haul taut the sheet as the sail
comes down, so that it may not flap about and make more noise than we
can help?"

"Certainly," I answered cheerfully, letting go the tiller rope and
seizing the fall of the sheet. "Lower away whenever you like."

The single lateen sail, stretched upon its long, heavy, tapering yard,
came sliding down the mast, rustling heavily, despite all that I could
do to prevent it; and presently it lay quiescent, stretched along the
deck, with the after yardarm projecting far over the taffrail. I sprang
up on the companion slide to see whether the turtle was still visible,
and was rejoiced to find that he _was_,--floating, an unconspicuous and
unrecognisable object by this time,--nearly half a mile away, apparently
quite undisturbed by the rustling sounds of the canvas.

"Is he still there, senor?" demanded Dominguez, in an eager half-
whisper.

I nodded, pointing silently to where I could see the creature appearing
at intervals on the ridges and backs of the swell.

"Good!" ejaculated Dominguez. "Now, where is Luis? Oh, here