carry mine. The
barrel is made fast to the post with a chain. And it rains, snows and
hails! A pretty sea. The imps of Satan fly about on every side. The
_Tamaulipas_ will pass there. The barrel has a good lid with a hinge,
but no padlock. You see, a fellow can write to his friends this way. The
letters come safely."

"It is very curious," muttered Clubin thoughtfully.

Captain Gertrais-Gaboureau returned to his bottle of ale.

"If that vagabond Zuela should write (continued Clubin aside), the
scoundrel puts his scrawl into the barrel at Magellan, and in four
months I have his letter."

"Well, Captain Clubin, do you start to-morrow?"

Clubin, absorbed in a sort of somnambulism, did not notice the question;
and Captain Gertrais repeated it.

Clubin woke up.

"Of course, Captain Gertrais. It is my day. I must start to-morrow
morning."

"If it was my case, I shouldn't, Captain Clubin. The hair of the dog's
coat feels damp. For two nights past, the sea-birds have been flying
wildly round the lanthorn of the lighthouse. A bad sign. I have a
storm-glass, too, which gives me a warning. The moon is at her second
quarter; it is the maximum of humidity. I noticed to-day some pimpernels
with their leaves shut, and a field of clover with its stalks all stiff.
The worms come out of the ground to-day; the flies sting; the bees keep
close to their hives; the sparrows chatter together. You can hear the
sound of bells from far off. I heard to-night the Angelus at St.
Lunaire. And then the sun set angry. There will be a good fog to-morrow,
mark my words. I don't advise you to put to sea. I dread the fog a good
deal more than a hurricane. It's a nasty neighbour that."

BOOK VI

THE DRUNKEN STEERSMAN AND THE SOBER CAPTAIN

I

THE DOUVRES

At about five leagues out, in the open sea, to the south of Guernsey,
opposite Pleinmont Point, and between the Channel Islands and St. Malo,
there is a group of rocks, called the Douvres. The spot is dangerous.

This term Douvres, applied to rocks and cliffs, is very common. There
is, for example, near the _Cotes du Nord_, a Douvre, on which a
lighthouse is now being constructed, a dangerous reef; but one which
must not be confounded with the rock above referred to.

The nearest point on the French coast to the Douvres is Cape Brehat. The
Douvres are a little further from the coast of France than from the
nearest of the Channel Islands. The distance from Jersey may be p