drowsiness came over me again, and I threw myself on the
skipper's bed to rest for a little while.

I must have slept very soundly; for when I awoke the fire was out,
and I saw by the chronometer that it was nearly eleven o'clock. But
my sleep had done me great good, and I hurried on deck and looked
round.

The schooner was labouring aimlessly for the want of the helm to
guide her and keep her on her course; but soon I brought her to
again and she went scudding along bravely. I made no doubt that at
the rate she was sailing I should sight Sumburgh Head early the
next morning.

What troubled me most was that she appeared to be making a good
deal of leeway. This was my one danger, for if I should be taken so
much to leeward as to miss the southern point of the Shetland
Mainland, then I should lose my chance of making Lerwick. Thus I
might possibly be driven northward beyond the islands, and so find
myself in a worse plight than if I had tried to regain the Orkneys.

The sight of a few fishing smacks on the far east inspired me with
renewed hope. They were making north, but they were too far away
for me to signal them. As a precaution, however, I hoisted a signal
of distress in case any passing ship should see the Falcon whilst I
was below or asleep at any time. But this was of no avail as it
happened, for all the rest of that day I saw not another sail.

The next night was spent in weariness on deck, with a cold rain
falling. I managed to keep awake without much difficulty, for I did
not take any more spirits, but had a can of hot coffee beside me at
the tiller, and went below several times to keep the fire alight
and the kettle on the boil. At about midnight I saw a ship's light
to windward, but it soon dropped below the horizon. It showed me
that I was still on the sea track between Orkney and Shetland, and
I kept a sharp lookout towards morning for the Sumburgh light.

Day broke with a haze over the water and a cloudy sky. The wind
shifted to the northeast, bringing snow. At midday the wind was due
north, and several inches of snow lay on the schooner's deck. I
boiled some potatoes for my dinner, and thought that I had
something to be thankful for in having a good store of provisions
on board. I was beginning to think that I should need them, for I
had not yet sighted the land.

Again the night came, and still I had seen no more sails. I had
seen no land. The rays of the Sumburgh light never reached the poor