a was still watching Carthew's face. Cheerful as his tones
were, there was an expression of anxiety in it. Three minutes
later, he gave an exclamation as of relief, and a shout rose from
the men forward.

Following the direction of his eyes, she saw the bowsprit of the
Osprey swing to leeward, and a moment later her topmast fall over
her side.

"What did I tell you?" Carthew said, exultingly. "A race is never
lost till it is won."

"Oh! I am sorry," Bertha said. "I do think it is hard to lose a
race by an accident."

"Every yacht has to abide by its own accidents, Miss Greendale; and
carrying away a spar is one of the accidents one counts on. If it
were not for that risk, yachts would always carry on too long. It
is a matter of judgment and of attention to gear. The loss of a
spar is in nine times out of ten the result either of rashness or
of inattention.

"However, I am sorry myself; that is to say, I would prefer winning
the cup by arriving first at the flag boat. However, I am certainly
not disposed to grumble at Fortune just at present."

"I should think not, Mr. Carthew," Lady Olive said. "I am sure I
congratulate you very heartily. Of course, I have seen scores of
races, and whenever there is any wind someone is always sure to
lose a spar, and sometimes two or three will do so. I don't think
you need fear any of the boats behind."

"No, yet I don't feel quite safe. I have no fear of any of the
cutters, but once round the Needles, it will be a broad reach, and
you will see that the schooners will come up fast, and I have to
allow them a good bit of time. However, I think we are pretty
safe."

Chapter 9.

The Phantom presently came along close to the Osprey, and Carthew
shouted:

"Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"No, thank you," Frank replied.

Then Bertha called out:

"I am so sorry."

Frank waved his hand in reply. The men were all busy trying to get
the wreckage alongside. The cross-trees had been carried away by
the fall of the topmast, and her deck forward was littered with
gear. The difficulty was greatly increased by the heavy sea in the
race.

"As soon as you have got everything on board, Hawkins, we will put
a couple of reefs in the mainsail. She will go well enough under
that and the foresail. If the mizzen is too much for her, we can
take it off."

It was nearly half an hour before all was clear, and the last of
the yachts in the race had passed them before the le