her side of the whale.

"What is it?" asked the mate.

"A sail! a sail!" he shouted, clapping his hands, and dancing
frantically about at a great risk of slipping off into the water. The
mate and Walter quickly climbed up, anxious to ascertain the truth of
Nub's assertion.

"Dere! dere!" he exclaimed. "To the south. Dere she comes! Missie
Alice and Massa Walter soon be safe!"

"That's not a ship," observed the mate. "If you look steadily, you will
see that it's a long way on this side of the horizon, and but little
raised above the water. It would not appear so distinct as it does if
it was the topgallant-sail of a ship, hull down. That's the sail of a
boat or a raft; and before long it will be near at hand."

Alice eagerly inquired what they were looking at. Walter having told
her what the mate said, could with difficulty persuade her to remain on
the raft, so anxious was she to climb up to see the object in sight.

The party on the whale's back stood watching the sail; but instead,
however, of it coming directly towards them, as they had expected it
would do, it was seen, when about a mile off, to be steering a course on
which it would pass them scarcely nearer than it then was. Walter
seized the flag out of the whale's back and waved it over his head,
shouting at the top of his voice, as did the mate and Nub, to attract
attention; but apparently they were not seen, and certainly could not
have been heard.

"It is more than I can make out, what they are about," observed Walter.
"They must have caught sight of the whale, and whether that's a boat or
a raft, it's surprising that they should not have come nearer to have a
look at us. They seem to have a pretty stiff breeze out there, and it
would not have taken them much out of their way."

"I am sure that it is a raft," said the mate, "as, with the breeze they
have got, and that large sail, a boat would move much faster through the
water than they are doing. Depend on it, those are the _Champion's_
people, and they have got some reason for not wishing to communicate
with us. I am pretty sure they fancy that this whale was killed by the
captain, and that, not finding the ship, he returned to it. I may be
wrong, but I think I am not much out in my calculations."

"But suppose you are wrong, and my father is on board the raft, could
not we shove off and overtake it?"

"As it is almost dead to windward, we should not have the slightest
chance of doi