reaching
as high as thirteen.

We were perfectly jubilant; for having rounded the Cape in safety we now
considered our troubles over and our ultimate success as certain. We
were fairly in the Pacific, the region of fine weather; and our little
barkie had behaved so well in the gale that our confidence in her
seaworthiness was thoroughly established; so that all fear of future
danger from bad weather was completely taken off our minds.

One morning, the wind having fallen considerably lighter during the
preceding night, as soon as breakfast was over I roused up our square-
headed topsail, with the intention of setting it in the room of the
small one.

But when I proceeded to take the latter in, I found that the halliards
were somehow jammed aloft, and I shinned up to clear them. No sailor,
if he really be a _seaman_, and not a tinker or a tailor, ever goes
aloft without taking a good look round him; so after I had cleared the
halliards I clung to the slim spar for a minute or two whilst I swept
the horizon carefully around.

"Sail ho!" shouted I, as I caught a glimpse of the royals of a vessel
gleaming snowy white in the brilliant sunshine far away in the south-
western board.

"Where away?" shouted Bob.

"Broad on our lee-bow," I answered, still clinging to the thin wire
topmast shrouds.

"What d'ye make her out to be, Harry, my lad?" was the next question.

"Either a barque or a brig," answered I; "the latter I am inclined to
believe, though he is still too far away for his mizzen-mast to show, if
he has one."

"Why d'ye think it's a brig, Harry?" queried Bob.

"His canvas looks too small for that of a barque," replied I, as I slid
down on deck, having seen all that it was possible to see at present.

"Then it's that murderin' _Albatross_ again, for a thousand," ejaculated
Bob, in a tone of deep disgust. "That's just the p'int where he might
reasonably be looked for. He made sail long enough afore we did, a'ter
the gale had blowed itself out, and consequently got a good long leg to
the west'ard of us; but as we've been steering perhaps a couple of
p'ints higher than he has for most of the time since, we've overhauled
him; and now he's come round to go to the nor'ard, and we've fallen in
with him once more."

I was inclined to take the same view of the matter that Bob did. It is
true that when once a ship passes out of sight at sea you can never be
sure of her exact position afterwards; yet, under