n away with the
ship."

And as Ned hurried away to execute his errand, Captain Blyth turned to
Sibylla and laughingly began to banter her upon her new accomplishment.

Active as a cat, Ned soon reached the royal-yard, upon which he
composedly seated himself, preparatory to bringing his telescope to bear
upon the stranger. A little manoeuvring sufficed him to find her; but
she was so far away--quite fifteen miles--that he could make out nothing
beyond the fact that she was apparently a ship of about the same size as
the _Flying Cloud_. He remained on his elevated perch watching her for
fully a quarter of an hour, a period long enough to satisfy him that
both ships were standing in the same direction, and then he descended.

"Well; what do you make of her?" demanded the skipper, as the lad joined
him on the poop.

Ned stated fully all that he had seen and all that he surmised--for a
sailor is often able to shrewdly guess at a great deal when he sees but
little; and when he had replied to the somewhat severe cross-examination
to which he was subjected, Captain Blyth reiterated his former opinion:

"It is the _Southern Cross_, for a cool hundred! Mr Bryce"--to the
mate--"be good enough to muster the watch, sir, and see if you cannot
get those sails to set something less like so many bags than they are at
present."

There had been a pretty heavy shower earlier on in the evening, which
had sensibly stretched the new canvas, and now that it was again dry it
hung from the spars and stays, as the skipper had said, "like so many
bags"--a terrible eye-sore to a smart seaman--yet the mate had
apparently not noticed it; or, at all events, had made no attempt to
have the matter rectified.

Mr Bryce made no reply; but, rising nonchalantly from his seat, he went
slowly down the poop ladder and sauntered into the waist, where he came
to a halt, and shouted:

"For'ard, there! lay aft here, all hands, and take a pull upon these
sheets and halliards, will ye!"

"Confound the fellow!" muttered Captain Blyth. "I told him to muster
_the watch_; and he must needs set all hands to work."

The men moved aft, very deliberately, clearly in no amiable mood at
being given such a job in the second dog-watch, and began upon the main
tack and sheet, gradually working their way upward, and from thence
forward.

"What did I say, mates?" commented Williams, as they slowly brought the
canvas into better trim. "This is the `old man's' wor