the hour named.

This done, the young captain extinguished the lamp, the rays of which
were already being dimmed by the daylight pouring down through the
skylight and in through the side ports, and ascended to the poop to take
a look round. As he stepped out on deck through the companion he
perceived that the weather had again changed; the dark clouds which had
been sweeping athwart the sky while he and his followers were making the
passage from the shore to the ship had vanished, leaving a sky of deep,
rich, stainless blue, brightening into clear primrose to the eastward
over the summits of the sierras which stood out purple, sharp, and
clean-cut against the delicate yellow that was changing, even as he
looked, to a clear, warm orange before the approach of the risen but as
yet invisible sun. The fresh breeze of a few hours before had dwindled
away to a mere breathing, while inshore it had fallen a flat calm,
leaving five small craft--probably bound for the Pearl Islands, some
forty miles to the southward and eastward--idly swinging upon the low
ground swell in the midst of the reflected image of the town and the
hilly country behind it. A few pale blue wreaths of wood smoke were
rising straight up into the clear morning air here and there over the
roofs of the houses, showing that the early cup of chocolate was already
in course of preparation for the luxury-loving Panamans, or possibly it
might indicate that the working portion of the population were preparing
their breakfast; and, peering through his perspective glass, George
could see that the quay was already the scene of a considerable amount
of animation. The young man laughed quietly to himself as the thought
occurred to him that possibly some at least of the animation might be
due to the fact that certain persons were busily engaged in an attempt
to discover what had become of their missing boats. Then the upper limb
of the sun throbbed suddenly into view over the ridge of the sierras,
flashing like white-hot gold, a beam of golden light shot down the
wooded slopes, a multitude of hitherto invisible objects sprang suddenly
into view, and a new day had come to Panama. Meanwhile the calm had
imperceptibly spread outward from the shore until it extended a good
mile beyond the galleon, where it ended abruptly against a dark blue
line showing where the sea-breeze was struggling to conquer the calm and
force its way shoreward.

George now turned his attenti