dad told me of what those beggars do to the
people they capture, sometimes making them walk the plank and shutting
them up in the hold of their own ship and burning them in a lump, you'd
be glad of their being punished when caught! I only hope they won't
seize our vessel; but, I tell you what, I'm certain we haven't seen the
last of those two craft yet. They'll come back after us at nightfall,
just you see!"

"By Jove, I hope not!" said Tom, impressed by Weeks' communication all
the more from the fact of his not being generally talkative, always
"keeping himself to himself" as the saying goes. "I hope you won't
prove a true prophet, Sammy, most devoutly."

I could see, also, from Mr Mackay's anxious manner and that of the
captain, though neither said anything further about the matter, that
their fears were not allayed. There was no doubt that they shared the
same impression as that of Sam Weeks; for as we bore away now nor'-nor'-
west, with the south-west wind on our quarter, more sail was made on the
ship, and a strong current running in the same direction helping us on,
we were found to be going over eight knots when the log was hove at six
bells, just before dinner-time.

"Old Jock" beamed again at this, walking up and down the poop and
rubbing his hands and sniffing with his long nose in the air to catch
the breeze, as was his wont when the Silver Queen was travelling through
the water.

"By Jingo, we'll weather 'em yet!" he said to Mr Mackay, who also
seemed more relieved in his mind; "we'll weather 'em yet."

"Yes, I think so, too," said the latter, scanning the horizon with the
big telescope away to windward. "There isn't a trace of them anywhere
out there now, and there are no islands for them to hide behind where we
last sighted them; so, if we can only carry-on like this, perhaps we'll
be able to give them the slip--eh?"

"Humph!" grumbled the other, "so I told you, Mackay; and, you know, when
I say a thing I always mean a thing!"

The afternoon passed without any further appearance of the proa or junk,
and then the evening came on, the wind veering round to our beam at
sunset, making us brace up more sharply. We looked about us pretty
keenly now, as might be imagined, but still nothing was to be seen of
our whilom pursuers; and so all on board turned in that night much more
comfortably than on the preceding one, when the danger appeared more
immediate.

The morning, however, told a different