you
will look intently past him you will catch occasional glimpses of
leaping whiteness--there, it clears somewhat--do you see the breakers
inshore of him? Ay, and now you may also see the loom of the land
through the haze!"

The skipper sprang half-way up the poop-ladder, glanced ahead, and
finally ascended to the poop, from whence he could get a clear and
uninterrupted view ahead and to leeward; then, holding on his hat with
one hand while he shaded his eyes with the other, he stared intently to
leeward.

"By Jove! Trimble," he exclaimed to the master, who had followed him,
"you are right; those are breakers, and that is the land yonder without
a doubt. But where in the world are we, man? We must be miles to
leeward of your reckoning."

"Yes, sir," answered the master; "there is no denying that. But you
must remember, if you please, that the wind headed us and broke us off a
couple of points some hours ago, which has made a lot of difference.
Then there is no doubt that this strong breeze, blowing dead on shore,
has created a powerful in-set, sending us bodily to leeward. I have
been exceedingly anxious for the last hour or two, for I know this part
of the French coast well, and am fully aware of its extremely
treacherous character."

"But where are we, man; where are we?" demanded the Captain, with more
than a trace of anxiety and impatience in the tones of his voice.

"Ah, sir, I could tell you better if it would only clear enough to let
us see some of the details of the coast more distinctly," answered the
master, in tones of anxiety equal to the Captain's own. "But," he
continued, "although I cannot say, to within a few miles, precisely
where we are, I have not the slightest doubt that we are somewhere
within the limits of Audierne Bay."

"Audierne Bay! and the wind blowing half a gale from the sou'-west!"
ejaculated the skipper, with a note of something approaching to dismay.

"Yes, sir, Audierne Bay," repeated the master. "It is only there that
we could possibly have come within sight of the land at this hour of the
day. Perhaps you would like me to bring up the chart, Captain
Vavassour."

"Yes; pray do so," answered the skipper.

The master had scarcely disappeared down the hatchway, on his way to his
cabin, when the French ship--which, having made an ineffectual effort to
round-to, had fallen off again and had continued to run dead to
leeward--suddenly broached-to; a terrific sea struck he