ned more credit with most of the emigrants, than all the governor's
instruments and observations.

One day, a little before noon it was, Mark appeared on deck with his
quadrant, and as he cleaned the glasses of the instrument, he announced
his conviction that the ship would shortly make the group of the crater.
A current had set him further north than he intended to go, but having
hauled up to south-west, he waited only for noon to ascertain his
latitude, to be certain of his position. As the governor maintained a
proper distance from his people, and was not in the habit of
making-unnecessary communications to them, his present frankness told
for so much the more, and it produced a very general excitement in the
ship. All eyes were on the look-out for land, greatly increasing the
chances of its being shortly seen. The observation came at noon, as is
customary, and the governor found he was about thirty miles to the
northward of the group of islands he was seeking. By his calculation, he
was still to the eastward of it, and he hauled up, hoping to fall in
with the land well to windward. After standing on three hours in the
right direction, the look-outs from the cross-trees declared no land was
visible ahead. For one moment the dreadful apprehension of the group's
having sunk under another convulsion of nature crossed Mark's mind, but
he entertained that notion for a minute only. Then came the cry of "sail
ho!" to cheer everybody, and to give them something else to think of.

This was the first vessel the Rancocus had seen since she left Rio. It
was to windward, and appeared to be standing down before the wind. In an
hour's time the two vessels were near enough to each other to enable the
glass to distinguish objects; and the quarter-deck, on board the
Rancocus, were all engaged in looking at the stranger.

"'Tis the Mermaid," said Mark to Betts, "and it's all right. Though what
that craft can be doing here to windward of the islands is more than I
can imagine!"

"Perhaps, sir, they's a cruising arter us," answered Bob. "This is about
the time they ought to be expectin' on us; and who knows but Madam
Woolston and Friend Marthy may not have taken it into their heads to
come out a bit to see arter their lawful husbands?"

The governor smiled at this conceit, but continued his observations in
silence.

"She behaves very strangely, Betts," Mark, at length, said. "Just take a
look at her. She yaws like a galliot in a ga