nk as little as may be
upon your present situation and to keep up your spirits. A chance _may_
come to us at any moment--and I believe it _will_ come, sooner or later.
We must therefore be on the watch and hold ourselves ready to take
advantage of it when it comes. The accidents--if I may call them so--of
the sea are countless; we shall, by and by, be constantly hovering in
the regular track of other ships, and that, in spite of all their
vigilance, may afford us an opportunity to make our situation known. Or
we may be captured; for, if the rascals carry out their present plans,
it will not be long before we shall have all the men-of-war in these
seas after us. Or we may, perhaps, be able to effect our escape in a
boat. That gig of ours, in which our friends have been sent ashore is a
splendid boat; and if we could get away in her whilst in some well-
beaten ship track, with a good stock of provisions, we might well hope
to be picked up in the course of a few days. That, however, I should
only propose as a last resource. But the more I think of it the less
hopeless do our prospects appear; so keep a good heart, Miss Stanhope,
and hope for the best. By the by, do you know how to use a pistol?"

"Yes," said Sibylla, "I know how to use a revolver. Duncan has--or
had--a pair; and when we were at home he taught Rose and me how to fire
them, putting up a target in the garden for us to shoot at. Why do you
ask?"

"Because--although I think there is not much ground for apprehension--it
will do no harm if you have a weapon upon which you can lay your hand in
case of need. I have a pair of small revolvers which, though they are
not very formidable weapons for long-distance shooting, are tolerably
effective at close quarters, say within thirty yards or so. I will give
you them--they are in a case, with cartridges and so on all complete;
and I should like you to keep them always loaded and handy. And now, if
you feel sufficiently composed to be left alone, I think I will go out
on deck again and see how matters are progressing there."

When Ned reached the poop, to which he naturally directed his steps, he
found Williams there, fuming at the protracted absence of the boats,
which could clearly be seen, with their noses hauled up on the sandy
beach, and the two boat-keepers sitting in lazy attitudes on their
gunwales, quietly smoking. That the remainder of the crews were not
delayed by assisting the marooned passenge