and the intense feeling of it was still
strong upon my mind, yet these lighthearted _voyageurs_ were jesting and
laughing loudly as they tossed the packs of furs out of the water-logged
boat; so little did they realize the imminence of the peril from which
they had been delivered.

"The remainder of that day was spent in drying the furs that had been
wetted, and in repairing the damaged boat. Afterwards we continued our
voyage, which, without further accident, terminated at length on the
shores of Hudson's Bay."

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PURSUIT.

The morning of the third day was an epoch in the lives of the passengers
on board the Storm King, for a passing vessel was signaled. It hove to,
and the captain quite willingly accepted as passengers to his next port
of call, San Francisco, the Senor and his daughter.

It is needless to say that Jim gazed long and intently after the Lotus
which bore away the Senorita and her father, and equally long and
intently, although Jim did not know it, did the young lady watch the
Storm King until it had become but a speck on the horizon.

For several hours Jim was seen no more on deck, and many a merry quip
was bandied at his expense. What Jim was doing will appear later.

"It is certainly out of the ordinary," admitted Becket. He had just come
aft to where the professor was consulting with Jo and Tom. They had been
discussing the action of the Marjorie, the ship which had taken its
departure from San Francisco on the same day and very hour that they had
sailed, and which had again been sighted when they left San Matteo. She
was trailing about a mile astern of them, and here it was the third day
since they had sailed.

"She has been following us right along," observed Tom. "Do you think she
is going the same way we are?"

"A man might be justified in thinking so," replied Berwick, dryly.

"I mean," corrected Tom, "to the island?"

"I don't know what to think," admitted the professor, "but I don't like
it somehow."

"It is queer," reiterated the engineer.

"Let us run away from him," suggested Jim, who now joined them.

"I have tried to outsail him, but it's no use," returned the captain.
"She is burning up the coal, yet only traveling as fast as we do under
sail."

"Suppose we try again and see if she is really following us."

"Let us radically change our course, captain, and see if they follow
us," said the professor.

"That isn't a bad idea," agreed the captain