oned to assist. Adair and his
officers stood with their sextants in their hands ready to note the
sun's altitude should he burst forth, while the first lieutenant watched
the chronometer. The tossing seas rose round the labouring ship. They
had already lost their leaden hue, and here and there bright green tints
could be seen, while their crests no longer hissed and foamed as before.
Suddenly, as if by a stroke of the magician's wand, the clouds parted,
and the bright sun shone forth in a clear space of blue. The men on
deck cheered as they saw it. To them it seemed an augury of safety. A
satisfactory observation was taken, the exact longitude was obtained, at
noon they would find the true latitude, and then, should Virginia Island
have been laid down correctly, they might steer with confidence towards
it. According to the chart, it was still to the eastward, and might, if
the ship had not run too far south, be sighted before night.

Noon was anxiously waited for. The crew continued labouring away with
the same energy as before, though in the case of some it was the energy
of despair. Again Adair took his place in the line of men passing the
buckets up and down. Still all their efforts did not avail to lessen
the amount of water within the ship, but they kept it from increasing--
that was something. As long as their strength held out, they might
continue to do that. Every one knew that, should they relax in their
efforts, the water would conquer them; the great point was to keep it
sufficiently low to prevent the fires being put out. Should that occur
and a calm come on, their case would then be desperate, even though in
sight of land. Some, it is true, might be saved in the boats and others
on rafts, should the ship float long enough to enable them to be
constructed, but the bulk--two-thirds, probably--must be doomed to
perish. Adair knew that he must be among the latter. While a soul
remained on board, he could not quit his ship. Dear as life might be to
him, for the sake of others it must be sacrificed. When also the trying
moment should come, would discipline be maintained? Would not the crew
scramble into the boats and swamp them? or leap headlong on the rafts
and render them useless?

Frequently the captain and master looked at their watches. Once more
they returned to the poop, with their sextants in hand. Noon was
approaching. Clouds were still passing slowly across the sky; they
might too