he Polar regions
and which disputes the right of way with the Gulf Stream some little
distance to the southwards of the great Banks of Newfoundland, had
pressed upon the helpless hull of the _Star of the North_, bearing her
away whither they pleased.

So, unable to resist either the winds or the waves, these combined
forces had driven her off her course at an oblique angle, thus
converting the nor'-easterly, or easterly drift proper, of the Gulf
Stream into a true sou'-westerly one, taking us from latitude 41 deg. 30
minutes north and longitude 51 deg. 40 minutes west, where we were on the
previous Friday night, when we were forced to lie-to, to our present
position on the chart.

To put the case more concisely, the _Star of the North_ had been carried
for the distance of _four degrees and a half_ exactly of longitude
backward on her outward track to New York and some _two degrees_ or
thereabouts to the southwards, placing us as nearly as possible in the
position the skipper had already indicated, a direction of some five
hundred miles more or less from our proper course and about midway
between Bermuda and the Azores, or Western Islands.

While Captain Applegarth was explaining this, as much for my benefit and
instruction, I believe, as anything, a thought occurred to me.

"Are we not now, sir, in the track of all the homeward-bound ships
sailing on the great circle from the West Indies and South American
ports?"

The skipper looked at me steadily, "smelling a rat" at once.

"I suppose, Haldane," he said somewhat sternly, "you want to get me back
to that infernal ship again? Not if I know it, my lad. As you told Mr
O'Neil just now, we've all had enough and to spare of that vessel and
the wild-goose chase she has led us from first to last. I won't hear
another word about her, by Jingo!"

Just then old Masters, who had gone up in the foretop to set something
right which had struck his sailor eye as not being altogether as it
should be aboard the _Star of the North_, raised his arm to attract the
attention of those on deck below him.

"Hullo, there, bo'sun!" called out the skipper, seeing him, for he
seldom kept his glasses away from the rigging of the ship and things
aloft. "What's the row, eh?"

"I sees summit to win'ard, sir."

"By George!" exclaimed the skipper in a tone that made every one laugh
who heard, all but Masters; the coincidence was so comical after what
Captain Applegarth had said only a m