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Few vessels could surpass the schooner in her sailing qualities, which made her peculiarly fitted for the sort of work she was employed in. By midnight, we made out on our starboard-bow several sail, which we had no doubt were some of the sternmost vessels of the French convoy; so we stood towards them without hesitation.
The plan was to run the ship aboard, on her starboard-bow, or off-side, as respected the island; and to do this with as little of a shock as possible. When everything was ready, I went aft, stood by the man at the helm, and ordered him to bear up. Neb placed himself just behind me. I knew it was useless to interfere, and let the fellow do as he pleased.
At six o'clock in the morning, we got again under sail, with a fresh breeze at E., and stood away N.N.W. for some low islands in that direction, but were soon obliged to haul close upon a wind to weather a shoal which we discovered upon our larboard bow, having at the same time others to the eastward: By the time we had weathered this shoal to leeward, we had brought the islands well upon our lee-bow, but seeing some shoals run off from them, and some rocks on our starboard-bow, which we did not discover till we were very near them, I was afraid to go to windward of the islands, and therefore brought-to, and having made the signal for the pinnace, which was ahead, to come on board, I sent her to leeward of the islands, with orders to keep along the edge of the shoal, which ran off from the south side of the southermost island, sending the yawl at the same time, to run over the shoal in search of turtle.
"Sail on the starboard-bow!" cried the look-out man. "Very well," replied the master; "Mr O'Brien, where's Mr O'Brien?" "Is it me you mane, sir?" said O'Brien, walking up to the master, for he had sat down so long in the topsail-halyard rack, that he was wedged in, and could not get out immediately. "Yes, sir; go forward, and see what that vessel is." "Ay, ay, sir," said O'Brien.
This last would have given us no concern at all had we been heading to the southward, for in that direction there was plenty of sea room; but we had now turned round and were rushing back northward north-north-east by compass, to be exact; and we knew that somewhere ahead of us whether on the port or the starboard-bow we were not at all certain were the terrible Penmarks; and, beyond them, the jutting Pointe du Raz, Douarnenez Bay, Pointe de Saint Mathieu, and the dangers that lurk between Ushant and the mainland, all bad enough in themselves, but with an added terror due to the furious currents that swirl round that part of the coast, and of the direction of which one can never be quite certain.
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