r boasted was clapped on her, and,
almost buried in foam, she rushed madly through the water.

Eric's first feeling, on seeing the brig, and the fear created among
his captors, was of intense joy, and he watched its steady growth upon
the horizon with eager anxiety. He did not notice the ominous looks
cast upon him by Evil-Eye and others, until Ben, whose eyes seemed to
miss nothing, drew him away to his former post near the bows, saying,
in a deep undertone,--

"Come with me, lad. I want a word with you."

Ben's countenance showed that he was much troubled, and Eric, full of
hope though he was at the near prospect of his own deliverance, could
not help feeling as though it were very selfish of him, for it
certainly meant that Ben would be placed in danger. He determined in
his own mind that if the brig should capture the schooner, he would
plead so hard for his kind rescuer that no harm would be done him.

"Will the brig catch up to us, Ben?" he asked eagerly. "Do you think
it will?"

"It'll be a bad business for you, my lad, if it does," answered Ben, in
an unusually gruff tone.

"Why, Ben, what do you mean?" asked Eric, in surprise.

"Mean what I say," retorted Ben. Then, after a moment's silence, he
went on: "Captain says that brig's been sent from Halifax after us, and
nobody else; and if she should catch us, you may be sure the wreckers
ain't going to leave you round to tell the people on the brig all you
know about them. Before the brig's alongside they'll drop you over the
bulwark with a weight that'll prevent your ever showing up on top
again."

At these words, whose truth Eric realized at once, his heart seemed
turned to stone. And now, just as passionately as he had prayed that
the brig might overtake them, did he pray that the schooner might keep
out of its reach.

In the meantime, the two vessels were tearing through the water without
much change in their relative positions.

Darkness was drawing near. As the sun went down, the change that the
beauty of the morning foreboded took place. The sky grew cloudy, the
wind blew harder, and there was every sign of an approaching storm.

As luck would have it, this state of affairs suited the schooner far
better than the brig. With great exultation the wreckers noted that
their pursuer was shortening sail. The square-rigged bark could not
stand a storm as well as could the schooner.

"Hurrah!" the captain shouted gleefully. "They're taking