s."

"Well, I feel that myself," he said. "Still, it is a little
aggravating, when everyone else is working hard, to see a man
calmly smoking, and never raising a finger to help."

The next day they kept very close inshore. More than once a white
sail was seen in the distance, which the captain pronounced, from
its cut, to belong to a British cruiser.

"The weather is fine, you see, and the wind is steady, so they are
coming rather farther into the bay than usual. We shall see more of
them, as soon as we are round that cape ahead, for they keep a very
sharp lookout off Cherbourg."

It was not, however, until they had rounded Ushant that any British
vessel came near enough to cause them uneasiness. There were two
large frigates cruising backwards and forwards off Brest, and a
brig-of-war came within shot, as they were doubling Penmarch Point.

"There is plenty of water for her, here," the skipper said.
"However, she will hardly catch us, before we are under shelter of
the batteries of Quimper."

"I should have thought that she would hardly think you worth the
trouble of chasing."

"It may be that they think we are carrying fresh meat from Saint
Malo to Nantes. There is a good deal of trade that way, this time
of year, when meat will keep good for a week. Or it may be that
they want to get news of what ships there are in Brest. However, it
is certain that he is in earnest; he is politely requesting us to
lower our sails."

He laughed as a puff of white smoke broke out from the brig and, a
second or two later, a ball dashed up the water fifty yards ahead
of them. The emotions with which Patsey and Leigh watched the brig
differed much from those of the captain. They would gladly have
seen the lugger overhauled and captured, but they soon saw that
there was little chance of this. The lugger was a fast boat, the
wind just suited her, and the brig fell farther and farther astern
until, as the former entered the bay of Quimper and laid her course
north, the brig hauled her wind and turned to rejoin the vessels
off Brest.

Keeping close to the land, they passed L'Orient and Quiberon and
Vannes without stopping, and did not drop anchor again until they
entered the bay on the eastern side of the island of Noirmoutier.
The next day they passed out through the narrow channel of Froment,
and had gone between the island and the mainland, for a distance of
two miles, when they saw a large brig making in towards the shore.