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She still came on at a spanking pace; but her canvas was reefed down rapidly until there was nothing left but the foretopsail, flying jib and the spanker. Soon these began to shake and then her fair wind left her entirely. She had reached the belt of calm in which the dead whale and my sloop still lay. In my ears the savage voice from the cloud to the south'ard was now a roar.
In the second place, the ebb was now making a strong rippling current running westward through the basin, and then south'ard and seaward down the straits by which we had entered in the morning. Even the ripples were a danger to our overloaded craft; but the worst of it was that we were swept out of our true course, and away from our proper landing-place behind the point.
I fell asleep occasionally and finally, before dawn, descended into a heavy slumber. I don't know what awoke me. The wind was whining very strangely through the sloop's standing rigging. My oar had tumbled down and oar and lantern were in the sea. The birds had all disappeared, nor were the fins of the sharks visible. Off to the south'ard was a strange, copper colored bank of cloud.
Let her go through water, you Jim Tiger," said the old sealer, whose professional ardor was fairly aroused. "Now, Sir John, unluckily, we are on the wrong side of these ice mountains, for the plain reason that Leaphigh lies to the south'ard of them.
"Ah," said Adam, "I remember father telling me when I was a little lad that he made up his mind if ever he moved it should be south'ard. But I'm not so sure about it. Bartle Massey says and he knows the South as the northern men are a finer breed than the southern, harder-headed and stronger-bodied, and a deal taller.
Without another word the pair moved aft, and when they were fairly settled in the cockpit Mr Bowles took the glass from Bob and put it into the skipper's hand. He then looked intently astern for perhaps half a minute, when he laid his hand on the skipper's arm and said "D'ye see them two stars, sir, about a couple of hand's breadths to the south'ard of the moon?
I've heard of witches flying on broomsticks through the air, but didn't know before that squaws are in the habit of skylarking about in that way". "Well, ye'll know it by observation, before long", said Micah, with a slight twitch of one eye. "Them's ducks from Canada, a goin' south'ard, as they allers do in the fall o' the year. They keep up that ere scoldin' seound, day and night.
Always he remembered: " comrades Old playmates on new seas When as we traded orpiment Among the savages A thousand leagues to south'ard And thirty years removed They knew not noble Valdez, But me they knew and loved.
"I see," he said; "it's springing up from the south'ard;" and, pacing the deck to and fro, he would also turn his eyes to the topmast-head every time he reached the quarter-deck of the vessel, to mark if the night-flag moved. Standing, at last, close to the helmsman, "How's her head?" he asked. "North, a quarter east, Sir," replied the man.
Perhaps it was her somewhat dingy and weatherworn appearance that caused her crew to avoid attracting to her any unnecessary attention, or possibly it may have been some other reason; at all events, to all inquisitive inquiries the bronzed and bearded trio who manned her merely replied that they had "been cruising to the south'ard."
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