one thing, and, for another, Barker may now play as much as
he pleases with the levers and valves in the pilot-house without doing
any mischief," answered von Schalckenberg.

The two boats were by this time off the southern extremity of the reef,
with the last oyster of their cargoes gone overboard; they were
therefore running light and buoyant over the long swell and sea with
which they had to contend, and two minutes later, Mildmay gave the word
for them to shift their helms and haul up to their new course of
east-north-east. As he did so, he pulled out his watch and noted the
time.

"Exactly eight bells--four o'clock," he remarked. "We must drive these
little hookers through it for all they are worth, or we shall have the
darkness upon us before we sight the ship," and he flung a somewhat
anxious glance aloft at the heavy and rather threatening aspect of the
sky. For within the last half-hour the sky had thickened somewhat, and
ragged patches of scud were sweeping swiftly along overhead, with a dark
and lowering bank of clouds behind them to windward, while the breeze
had freshened very perceptibly. The sea was increasing, and the boats
were already drenching their occupants with the heavy showers of spray
that they flung aft, as they met and drove headlong into and through the
head-sea. The boats were magnificent little craft, for their size, but
Mildmay knew that matters might easily become very awkward indeed for
them, even in the short space of an hour or two, out there in the broad
Pacific, should it come on to blow at all heavily. Moreover, there was
no moon now, and the night promised to be dark. What if they should
fail to find the ship!

The boats, however, were doing their work splendidly, despite the wind
and the sea; and although the tendency of the weather was undoubtedly to
grow worse rather than better, the change was so gradual at first as to
be scarcely perceptible. But the sunset that night was wild--a sunset
of smoky scarlet and fiery orange in the midst of a stormy flare of
greenish-purple clouds; and when the sun disappeared the boats still had
very nearly half an hour to run before reaching the point at which
Mildmay estimated that they ought to shift their helms again to get into
the track of the ship. Taking into consideration the retardation of the
boats by the adverse influence upon them of the wind and sea, he allowed
them an extra ten minutes, and then gave the order to haul up