een.

"I knew we were bound to run away from the rest of the party," Jake
said, keeping his face turned toward the bow, for the slightest
carelessness might be fatal to all. "If this wind dies out we can lay
still till they come up, as they're sure to do before long."

"But suppose the other boats have been swamped?" Neal suggested, with a
choking sob as he realized that he might never see his father again.

"We won't suppose anything of the kind," Jake replied sharply. "There
are plenty in the crowd who can handle the boats better than this one
was handled, and if we rode out the night in safety why shouldn't they
have done the same?"

"The only chance of our not seein' 'em," one of the sailors said
thoughtfully, "is, that sailin' slower, they may now be near land that
we passed in the night without knowin' it. There should 'a been a lot of
keys within fifty miles of where we abandoned the Sea Dream."

"That's very true, matey," and now Jake spoke in his customary cheerful
tone, "an' we'll soon be makin' some place where there'll be a chance of
stretchin' our legs. Overhaul the grub, one of you, an' let's have a
bite; I feel like a man what's been on a thirty hour watch."

"So you have, for that matter. Even if you ain't a sailor man I'd like
to see him as could handle a little craft any better. With me at the
helm she'd have gone to the bottom before midnight."

"I won't kick 'cause you praise me," Jake replied with a laugh; "but
don't lay it on too thick for fear I might get proud."

"I was only tellin' the truth, an' jest what all of us think. When the
breeze freshened I made up my mind that the voyage was about ended; but
here we are yet, an' here we're likely to be a spell longer unless we
strike another norther."

While the man was speaking he had passed aft two cans of preserved meat,
some hard bread, and a small jar of pickles, after opening the tins with
his sheath knife, and every one on board made a hearty meal, the boys
in particular feeling decidedly cheerful when the repast had been eaten.

"The wind is fallin' off a bit, an' I reckon it'll come dead calm by
noon," Jake said, after refusing to allow one of the seamen to relieve
him. "We'll all soon have a chance to bottle up sleep."

"How long do you think it ought to be before we sight the land?" Neal
asked.

"That's jest what I can't say, lad; but 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'
we was a good bit below the coast of Cuba when the little yacht