them into a bundle; then, wading out into the water to within fifty
yards of the felucca, swam off to it, towing the bundle behind him.

He had no difficulty in climbing on board, and after dressing himself in
the clothes he had worn at Tripoli, and had kept on underneath the Arab
attire, he pulled the head rope until the craft was nearly over the
anchor. He then loosened the line that brailed up the sail, got the
stone that served as an anchor on board, hauled the sheet aft, and took
his place at the tiller. The wind had dropped a good deal with the sun,
but there was still sufficient air to send the light craft fast through
the water. He steered out for a time, and then, when he thought himself
a good mile from the shore, headed east. By the appearance of the water
as it glanced past, he thought that he must be making from five to six
miles an hour, and when the sun rose at five o'clock, believed that he
was nearly forty miles on his way. He now fastened the tiller with a
rope and proceeded to overhaul the craft.

It was decked over forward only, and he crept into the cabin, which was
little more than three feet high. The first thing his eye lit on was a
bulky object hanging against the side, and covered with a thick black
blanket of Arab manufacture. Lifting this, he saw, as he expected, that
the object beneath it was a large waterskin well filled; the blanket had
evidently been placed over it to keep it cool when the sun streamed down
on the deck above it. There was also a large bag of dates, and another
of flat cakes, and he guessed that these had all been put on board the
evening before, in readiness for a start in the morning. This relieved
him of his chief anxiety, for he had been unable to think of any plan
for replenishing his supply, or to concoct a likely tale that, were he
obliged to go on shore, would account for his being alone in a craft of
that size.

The wind increased again after sunrise, and being unable to reef the
sail single handed he managed partially to brail it up. All day the
craft flew along with the wind on the quarter, making six or seven miles
an hour; and he felt that by morning he would be well beyond pursuit. On
the run he passed several craft engaged in fishing, but these gave him
no uneasiness. He had in the morning, with some old sails he found,
constructed three rough imitations of human figures, one with the Arab
dress and another with the bernouse, and had placed them against th