difficult
circumstances, such, for example, as a thick snow-storm, midnight, a
heavy sea, and a strong current setting upon a lee shore, the ship's
anchor being broken also. It was generally considered that the
situation was likely to be unpleasant.

At ten o'clock Bennie hurried his guests to their beds, where they
slept soundly in spite of their anxiety. Before three in the morning
he awaked them, and they were soon ready to reembark.

It was dim morning twilight as they bade adieu to their hospitable
entertainers, and but little could be seen. Captain Corbet raised his
head, and peered into the sky above, and sniffed the sea air.

"Wal, railly," said he, "I do declar ef it don't railly seem as ef it
railly is a change o' weather--it railly doos. Why, ain't this rich?
We're ben favored at last. We're agoin to hev a clar day. Hooray!"

The boys could not make out whether the captain's words were justified
or not by the facts, but thought that they detected in the air rather
the fragrance of the land than the savor of the salt sea. There was no
wind, however, and they could not see far enough out on the water to
know whether there was any fog or not.

Bennie accompanied them to the boat, and urged them to come back if
they found the boys and let him rest in Scott's Bay. But the fate of
that boy was so uncertain, that they could not make any promise about
it.

It was a little after three when the Antelope weighed anchor, and
dropped down the bay.

There was no wind whatever. It was the tide only that carried them
down to their destination. Soon it began to grow lighter, and by the
time that they were half way, they saw before them the dark outline of
the island, as it rose from the black water with its frowning cliffs.

The boys looked at it in silence. It seemed, indeed, a hopeless place
to search in for signs of poor Tom. How could he ever get ashore in
such a place as this, so far out of the line of his drift; or if he had
gone ashore there, how could he have lived till now? Such were the
gloomy and despondent thoughts that filled the minds of all, as they
saw the vessel drawing nearer and still nearer to those frowning cliffs.

As they went on the wind grew stronger, and they found that it was
their old friend--the sou-wester. The light increased, and they saw a
fog cloud on the horizon, a little beyond Ile Haute. Captain Corbet
would not acknowledge that he had been mistaken in his impression