Each man plied his paddle with noiseless but powerful stroke, and long
before the cloud uncovered the face of the Queen of Night they were
shooting far away over the tranquil sea.




CHAPTER XII.

WEATHERING A STORM IN THE OPEN SEA.


In profound silence they continued to paddle until there was no chance
of their being seen by the party on the islet. Then Van der Kemp rested
his paddle in front of him and looked slowly round the horizon and up at
the sky as if studying the weather.

Nigel longed to ask him more about the men they had seen, and of this
"enemy" whom he had mentioned, but there was that in the hermit's grave
look which forbade questioning, and indeed Nigel now knew from
experience that it would be useless to press him to speak on any subject
in regard to which he chose to be reticent.

"I don't like the look of the sky," he said at last. "We are going to
have a squall, I fear."

"Had we not better run for the nearest land?" said Nigel, who, although
not yet experienced in the signs of the weather in those equatorial
regions, had quite enough of knowledge to perceive that bad weather of
some sort was probably approaching.