the captain was willing to let him form
his own conclusions, and he gave him no assistance in doing so. Eight
bells struck on the forecastle; and this was the signal for the mid
watch, which consisted of the captain and Felix; and Scott left the
upper deck.

Pitts was relieved by Felix; for he could serve as lookout and take
charge of the sail at the same time. Morris was the youngest person on
board, and he was tired enough to camp down at once on the divan in the
pilot-house. The cabin door could not be safely opened, or at least not
without peril to the contents of the cabin; for an occasional wave
combed over the taffrail, and poured itself upon it.

Louis was not inclined to sleep, and he went on the upper deck to pass
the time with Felix; and the captain asked him to keep a lookout for the
pirate. The fog still prevailed, and he could see nothing. He talked
with the Milesian for quite two hours, when the time for the relief of
the helm came. Just before the four bells struck, the fog disappeared as
suddenly as it had dropped down on the sea.

Louis went aft and gazed into the distance; but he could see no triangle
of lights, or even a single light in any direction. He made a thorough
search, with no other result, and then stood by the sail till the
captain came up to take the place of Felix.

"The fog has blown in ahead of us, Louis; but Flix reports that you
have not been able to find the lights of the pirate," said Scott.

"Not a sign of them can be made out," replied Louis. "I have looked the
sea over in every direction. What does that mean, Captain Scott?"

"It may mean any one of three things, and you have to take your choice
among them. The pirate may have foundered in the gale, she may have put
about to return to the coast of Egypt, or we may have beaten her so
badly in the race of fifteen hours, that she has dropped out of sight
astern of us. I don't know much about the Pacha's steamer, though our
second engineer told me she was not built to order, as the Maud was, but
purchased outright."

"But which of the three results you indicate do you consider the most
probable, Captain?"

"The last one I named. This gale has not been heavy enough to wreck any
vessel of ordinary strength, so that I cannot believe she has foundered.
Captain Mazagan is working for his little twenty thousand dollars'
reward; and if he has followed us up here with the intention of picking
you up on the cruise, I don't believe h