. He said he thought he would go to bed, before
supper was half over, and did so, although it was only six o'clock.
Poor Mark! it was a week before he again sat at table or went on deck.

During this week the Nancy Bell sailed along the coasts of Maine, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, and North Carolina. She went inside of Martha's Vineyard,
through Vineyard Sound, in company with a great fleet of coasters; but
when they passed Gay Head, and turned to the westward into Long Island
Sound, the Nancy was headed towards the lonely light-house on Montauk
Point, the extreme end of Long Island. From here her course was for the
Cape May lightship on the New Jersey coast, and for some time she was
out of sight of land.

So they sailed, day after day, ever southward, and towards the warmth
which was to make Mr. Elmer well again.

Although Mark was very ill all this time, Ruth was as bright and well
as though she were on land. This was very mortifying to her brother;
but "Captain Li," who went in to see him every day, comforted him by
telling him of old sailors he had known who were always sea-sick for
the first few days of every voyage they undertook.

The schooner was off Cape Hatteras before Mark felt able to leave his
berth. At last, one evening when the sea was very quiet, "Captain Li"
said, "Come, Mark, I want you to turn out and go on deck to see the
last of Hatteras Light. You know Cape Hatteras is one of the worst
capes along our entire Atlantic coast, and is probably the one most
dreaded by sailors. When coming home from the West Indies, they sing an
old song which begins:

"'Now if the Bermudas let you pass,
Then look for Cape Hatteras.'"

Slowly dressing, with the captain's aid, Mark, feeling very weak, but
free from the horrible sickness from which he had suffered so long,
managed to get out on deck. He was astonished at the change that one
week's sailing southward had made in the general appearance of things.
When he was last on deck, it and the rigging were covered with snow and
ice. Now not a particle of either was to be seen, and the air was mild
and pleasant. A new moon hung low in the western sky, and over the
smooth sea the schooner was rippling along merrily, under every stitch
of canvas that she could spread.

Mark received a warm welcome from his father, mother, and Ruth, who
were all on deck, but had not expected to see him there that evening