to the whole fleet. She is a fine vessel,
Mynheer Vanderdecken, is she not?"

"A very fine, roomy vessel," replied Philip, which was all that, in
conscience, he could say.

The fleet sailed on, sometimes on a wind, sometimes free, but let the
point of sailing be what it might, the _Vrow Katerina_ was invariably
astern, and the fleet had to heave-to at sunset to enable her to keep
company; still, the captain continued to declare that the point of
sailing on which they happened to be, was the only point in which the
_Vrow Katerina_ was deficient. Unfortunately, the vessel had other
points quite as bad as her sailing; she was crank, leaky, and did not
answer the helm well: but Mynheer Barentz was not to be convinced. He
adored his ship, and, like all men desperately in love, he could
see no fault in his mistress. But others were not so blind, and the
admiral, finding the voyage so much delayed by the bad sailing of one
vessel, determined to leave her to find her way by herself so soon
as they had passed the Cape. He was, however, spared the cruelty of
deserting her, for a heavy gale came on which dispersed the whole
fleet, and on the second day the good ship _Vrow Katerina_ found
herself alone, labouring heavily in the trough of the sea, leaking so
much as to require hands constantly at the pumps, and drifting before
the gale as fast to leeward almost as she usually sailed. For a
week the gale continued, and each day did her situation become more
alarming. Crowded with troops, encumbered with heavy stores, she
groaned and laboured, while whole seas washed over her, and the men
could hardly stand at the pumps. Philip was active, and exerted
himself to the utmost, encouraging the worn-out men, securing where
aught had given way, and little interfered with by the captain, who
was himself no sailor.

"Well," observed the captain to Philip, as they held on by the
belaying-pins, "you'll acknowledge that she is a fine weatherly vessel
in a gale--is she not? Softly, my beauty, softly," continued he,
speaking to the vessel, as she plunged heavily into the waves, and
every timber groaned. "Softly, my dear, softly! How those poor
devils in the other ships must be knocking about now. Heh! Mynheer
Vanderdecken, we have the start of them this time: they must be a
terrible long way down to leeward. Don't you think so?"

"I really cannot pretend to say," replied Philip, smiling.

"Why, there's not one of them in sight. Yes, by Heave