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The stormy petrels, driven in from the Atlantic, are skimming like black swallows over the bay beneath us. Long strings of sea-fowl are flagging on steadily at railroad pace, towards the sands and salt-marshes of Braunton.
"Those stormy petrels suspect something wrong, too, they follow us everywhere." "Jack says he saw the spectre ship last night." "Is that true, Jack?" "Why should I say so, if I hadn't seen it? You were all asleep, I stood alone at the helm. Suddenly, from the distance, the form of a ship moved toward us. It seemed scarcely to touch the water, and was sailing against the wind.
They seemed, though on a much larger scale, to be hanging upon our track, just as a flock of crows hang over the track of a plough in the field, and doubtless for the same reason to pick up the food thrown up by the mighty keel of our ship. Most of them were ice-birds, blue petrels, and whale-birds, with a large admixture of albatrosses and Mother Carey's chickens.
"Because many of his personal bills aren't paid, and the political stormy petrels are not yet heading his way. He's handicapped by not being able to hunt for it openly. Some ill-chosen confidant might betray the find to us. I doubt if he trusts more than one or two people at a time." "It must be hell to be a maharajah!" Tess burst out after a minute's silence.
But among the sailors, he looked like a land-crane blown off to sea, and consorting with petrels. The forlorn Rope Yarn, however, was by far the most remarkable figure. Land-lubber that he was, his outfit of sea-clothing had long since been confiscated; and he was now fain to go about in whatever he could pick up.
It was a funny little creature, nine inches in length, a species of notathenia. Several snow petrels and a skua-gull made attempts to secure the fish, but the afterguard kept up such a chorus of cheers, hoots and howls that the birds were scared away till one of us secured the fish from the floe. Early on the 19th we passed close to a large iceberg which had a shelving beach like an island.
The chaise raced along, while Yegorushka saw always the same the sky, the plain, the low hills . . . . The music in the grass was hushed, the petrels had flown away, the partridges were out of sight, rooks hovered idly over the withered grass; they were all alike and made the steppe even more monotonous.
Toward the middle of February we saw a mirage of the coming sun above the horizon; there were flights of Arctic petrels and snow-buntings; and spring was with us. In an ice-pack of big hummocks and narrow lanes we made good progress all the summer.
The slime of medusa lights lined the long foam trail of the Lady Washington each night. Dolphins raced the ship, herd upon herd, their silver-white bodies aglisten in the sun. Schools of spermaceti-whales to the number of twenty at a time gambolled lazily around the prow. Stormy petrels, flying-fish, sea-lions, began to be seen as the boat passed north of the seas bordering New Spain.
The sun set gorgeously crimson an angry sun; the petrels, skimming the waves about the ship, twittered excitedly, and other sea-birds seemed hastening early for land. "You'd better crawl under the canvas, to-night, Charley," bade his father. "We're liable to have rain." "Where'll you sleep, then?" asked Charley. "Oh, on the deck with Mr. Grigsby. We'll find a dry spot." Mr.
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