my weather broke almost over them.

As he drew near White Horse, five white terns, or sea-swallows, flew
over; he did not welcome their appearance, as they usually preceded
rough gales. The headland, wooded to its ridge, now rose high against
the sky; ash and nut-tree and hawthorn had concealed the ancient graven
figure of the horse upon its side, but the tradition was not forgotten,
and the site retained its name. He had been steering so as just to clear
the promontory, but he now remembered that when he had visited the
summit of the hill, he had observed that banks and shoals extended far
out from the shore, and were nearly on a level with the surface of the
Lake. In a calm they were visible, but waves concealed them, and unless
the helmsman recognised the swirl sufficiently early to change his
course, they were extremely dangerous.

Felix bore more out from the land, and passing fully a mile to the
north, left the shoals on his right. On his other hand there was a sandy
and barren island barely a quarter of a mile distant, upon which he
thought he saw the timbers of a wreck. It was quite probable, for the
island lay in the track of vessels coasting along the shore. Beyond
White Horse, the land fell away in a series of indentations, curving
inwards to the south; an inhospitable coast, for the hills came down to
the strand, ending abruptly in low, but steep, chalk cliffs. Many
islands of large size stood out on the left, but Felix, not knowing the
shape of the Lake beyond White Horse, thought it best to follow the
trend of the land. He thus found, after about three hours, that he had
gone far out of his course, for the gulf-like curve of the coast now
began to return to the northward, and looking in that direction he saw a
merchant vessel under her one square sail of great size, standing across
the bay.

She was about five miles distant, and was evidently steering so as to
keep just inside the line of the islands. Felix, with some difficulty,
steered in a direction to interrupt her. The south-west wind being then
immediately aft, his sail did not answer well; presently he lowered it,
and paddled till he had turned the course so that the outrigger was now
on the eastern side. Then hoisting the sail again, he sat at what had
before been the prow, and steered a point or so nearer the wind. This
improved her sailing, but as the merchant ship had at least five miles
start, it would take some hours to overtake her. Nor on