ASCENSION. 257

done more work, I’ll venture to say, in three days than
he ever did in three weeks.”

Then the “chief mate,” feeling a heaviness of heart
at the prospect before. them, retired to her room, and on
the deck the young captain paced to and fro, questioning
in his-own mind, now when it was too late to retract from
the position he had taken, whether or no he was acting
wisely in thus attempting what his father would unques-
tionably have said was a reckless piece of work.

Since the mutiny, Ben, as a matter of course, had been
on deck during all the hours of darkness, therefore this
first night after leaving Ascension was nothing new in the
way of work, and even had it been he would not have felt
any undue amount of fatigue, owing to the anxiety which
beset him now he was fully committed to the scheme of
making the home port with no officers and only four
sailors.

Until after having left Ascension, he had hoped for
unusually fair weather; but now his one desire was for
rain, and he was perfectly willing it should come with an
accompaniment of wind, rather than not at all.

It was destined, however, he should not be called upon
to pay such a price for water, and it might have proven
an extravagant one had the downfall brought with it a
hurricane.

Before midnight clouds began to gather in the sky; the
wind did not increase perceptibly, and the sea was run-
ning smoothly, so that the little brig remained almost on
an even keel.