upon the chart their probable whereabouts at the moment when they
would be likely to find themselves once more able to head for, say,
Saint Thomas or Saint Kitts. From this point I laid off a course for
the former island, and then calculated their probable position on that
line at the moment, compared this with the position then occupied by the
schooner, and thus arrived at the new direction in which I ought to seek
for them. Having reached thus far, I went on deck, set the new course,
and then, with Lindsay's assistance, went over all my calculations
again, verifying every figure of them.

Luckily for our anxiety, the trade wind was now blowing so fresh that,
on an easy bowline as we were, a whole mainsail, foresail, and topsail,
with royal and topgallant sails stowed, was as much as we could stagger
under, the little witch dancing along at a good, clean eleven knots
under this canvas; the consequence being that in thirty-eight hours from
the moment of bearing up we had reached the spot where I intended that
my new search for the missing boats should begin.

This time, however, I intended to adopt a course of procedure exactly
opposite to that which I had followed while prosecuting my former
search. Then, I had gone to windward of the spot when I expected to
find the boats, and had run down to leeward along the course which I
thought it probable they had taken; but now my uncertainty as to their
precise position necessitated a search over a belt of ocean several
miles in width. I therefore determined to get well to leeward of the
spot where my calculations indicated that I ought to find them, and from
there work to windward on an easy bowline, making stretches of some
twenty-six miles in length. I had already ascertained the height of our
royal yard above the sea-level, and from that had calculated that a
lookout stationed at that elevation would command a circular area having
a radius of thirteen miles. If, therefore, I made stretches across a
circle of twenty-six miles' diameter, I should practically command a
belt of ocean of fifty-two miles in width; and this I deemed sufficient
for my purpose.

Accordingly, having reached our cruising-ground at two bells in the
forenoon watch, and having one hand on the royal yard as a lookout, with
two more on the topsail yard by way of additional precaution, we made
our first reach of thirteen miles in a south-easterly direction. Then,
nothing being in sight, we tacked