moderate, and I shall endeavor to sail up the coast sufficiently near
to find a refuge, or the wind will be stronger, and then----"

"Then what will you do, Dick?"

"Then, in the present condition of the 'Pilgrim,'" replied Dick Sand,
"once near the land, it will be very difficult to set off again."

"What will you do?" repeated Mrs. Weldon.

"I shall be forced to run my ship aground," replied the novice, whose
brow darkened for a moment. "Ah! it is a hard extremity. God grant that
we may not be reduced to that. But, I repeat it, Mrs. Weldon, the
appearance of the sky is reassuring, and it is impossible for a vessel
or a pilot-boat not to meet us. Then, good hope. We are headed for the
land, we shall see it before long."

Yes, to run a ship aground is a last extremity, to which the most
energetic sailor does not resort without fear! Thus, Dick Sand did not
wish to foresee it, while he had some chances of escaping it.

For several days there were, in the state of the atmosphere,
alternatives which, anew, made the novice very uneasy. The wind kept in
the condition of a stiff breeze all the time, and certain oscillations
of the barometrical column indicated that it tended to freshen. Dick
Sand then asked himself, not without apprehension, if he would be again
forced to scud without sails. He had so much interest in keeping at
least his top-sail, that he resolved to do so so long as it was not
likely to be carried away. But, to secure the solidity of the masts, he
had the shrouds and backstays hauled taut. Above all, all unnecessary