.

I was glad to get to bed, although I felt that staying up so
tremendously late was great fun. As I climbed into the bunk over the
Doctor's and pulled the blankets snugly round me, I found I could look
out of the port-hole at my elbow, and, without raising my head from the
pillow, could see the lights of Penzance swinging gently up and down
with the motion of the ship at anchor. It was like being rocked to sleep
with a little show going on to amuse you. I was just deciding that I
liked the life of the sea very much when I fell fast asleep.

THE FOURTH CHAPTER. OUR TROUBLES CONTINUE

THE next morning when we were eating a very excellent breakfast of
kidneys and bacon, prepared by our good cook Bumpo, the Doctor said to
me,

"I was just wondering, Stubbins, whether I should stop at the Capa
Blanca Islands or run right across for the coast of Brazil. Miranda said
we could expect a spell of excellent weather now--for four and a half
weeks at least."

"Well," I said, spooning out the sugar at the bottom of my cocoa-cup, "I
should think it would be best to make straight across while we are sure
of good weather. And besides the Purple Bird-of-Paradise is going to
keep a lookout for us, isn't she? She'll be wondering what's happened to
us if we don't get there in about a month."

"True, quite true, Stubbins. On the other hand, the Capa Blancas make
a very convenient stopping place on our way across. If we should need
supplies or repairs it would be very handy to put in there."

"How long will it take us from here to the Capa Blancas?" I asked.

"About six days," said the Doctor--"Well, we can decide later. For the
next two days at any rate our direction would be the same practically in
either case. If you have finished breakfast let's go and get under way."

Upstairs I found our vessel surrounded by white and gray seagulls
who flashed and circled about in the sunny morning air, looking for
food-scraps thrown out by the ships into the harbor.

By about half past seven we had the anchor up and the sails set to a
nice steady breeze; and this time we got out into the open sea without
bumping into a single thing. We met the Penzance fishing fleet coming in
from the night's fishing, and very trim and neat they looked, in a line
like soldiers, with their red-brown sails all leaning over the same way
and the white water dancing before their bows.

For the next three or four days everything went smoothly and nothing