ks hereabouts
are those built up in your brain through that confounded bottle you're
always sucking at below!"

"Indeed, sir," put in Jorrocks at this point, taking the mate's part,
"Mr Macdougall's right, Cap'. We've just had the narrowest squeak of
going to the bottom I ever 'sperienced in all my time. Look there, sir,
o'er the weather taffrail, an' you'll see summat we pretty nearly ran
foul of just now--it were a risky shave!"

Captain Billings, somewhat puzzled by the boatswain thus "shoving his
oar in" for a second time unasked, cast his eyes in the direction
pointed out to him, where, now lighted up by the newly risen moon, could
be distinctly seen the Penedo de San Pedro, with the surf breaking over
it in sheets of silver foam.

He recognised the place in a moment, having passed close by the spot on
a previous voyage; and he was greatly astonished at our being in its
near vicinity now.

"Good gracious!" he ejaculated, "what an escape we must have had; but
how came we near the place at all?"

"That I can't explain, sir," replied Jorrocks meaningly. "Perhaps,
though, as how there was something wrong in the ship's position on the
chart to-day."

"Ha, humph!" muttered the skipper to himself. "This comes of my being
ill and entrusting my duties to other hands; but I'll never do it again,
I'll take care! Mr Macdougall," he added aloud, "I beg your pardon for
what I said just now in the heat of the moment, and I hope you'll excuse
it, as I was greatly flurried, and do not feel very well yet. What
position did you place the vessel in to-day, by the way, when you took
your observation at noon?"

This was a ticklish question, and the mate hardly knew how to answer it,
recollecting, as he did in an instant, what I had said--of our being
much further westwards than the skipper thought. Even if he did not
agree with me, the point should have been referred to Captain Billings,
as it so vitally concerned the interests of all on board. Almost
tongue-tied, therefore, now by his former silence on the subject, he
temporised with the difficulty, determined not to be cornered if he
could help it.

"'Deed an' I mad' it e'en the same as the deed reck'nin' cam' to,
Cap'en, a wee bit to the westwar' o' twenty-seven, and close to the
leen."

"Then your sextant must have been out of order, or your calculations
wrong," replied the skipper, shortly. "We are evidently much to the
westwards of your reckoning. How did yo