auled four points to the southward and
freshened; and although this shift of wind necessitated our handing our
star board studding sails, it gave our fore-and-aft canvas a chance to
put in some good work, which it did, the ship's speed going up to
sixteen knots within the next hour. And for a sailing ship, sixteen
knots is a very respectable speed, let me tell you, although I can
recall more than one occasion when we logged nineteen, and that not only
for a brief spell, but for three or four hours at a stretch. Still,
sixteen knots is a pretty good pace; and it was an exhilarating sight to
watch the rush of the white yacht over that glorious sapphire sea, with
every sail accurately set and trimmed and tugging at the beautiful hull
like a team of cart horses, the long, weighty swell chasing us,
wind-whipped and capped with seething crests of snow-white foam, while
the great, glass-smooth bow wave went roaring away on either hand with
its hissing and leaping crown of froth sparkling like gems in the rays
of the declining sun.

I think Mrs Vansittart was never more proud of her beautiful ship than
she was on that particular evening, as she stood with me on the poop and
critically marked our rush through the water and every perfection of
hull, spar, and sail. The yacht was a lovely picture, even as beheld by
us from her poop; but I would have given a trifle for the privilege of
seeing her as she must have appeared at such a moment from a passing
ship, had there been such a craft. But, as it happened, there was not;
we had the sea to ourselves, for we chanced just then to be traversing a
stretch of water very rarely frequented by craft of any description.

It happened to be my eight hours out on that particular night, and when,
at eight bells of the first watch, I turned the ship over to Parker, the
boatswain, we were still reeling off our sixteen knots, with a fresh,
steady breeze from the south-east. It was a dark night, for the moon
was only two days old, and had set long ago, while a thin veil of cloud
hid most of the stars. Had we been in much-frequented waters I should
perhaps have considered it a bit reckless to drive the ship so hard
through the darkness; but we were not, and I retired to my cabin with an
easy mind, and, undressing at once, tumbled into my bunk and fell sound
asleep almost as my head touched the pillow.

CHAPTER NINE.

WRECKED!

How long I slept I have no means of knowing. All I can r