of Ferdinand de Magellan himself, when the sails of his ship,
the TRINIDAD, first bent before the breeze from the great Pacific.


CHAPTER X THE COURSE DECIDED


A WEEK after they had doubled the Cape Pilares, the DUNCAN
steamed into the bay of Talcahuano, a magnificent estuary,
twelve miles long and nine broad. The weather was splendid.
From November to March the sky is always cloudless, and a constant
south wind prevails, as the coast is sheltered by the mountain
range of the Andes. In obedience to Lord Glenarvan's order,
John Mangles had sailed as near the archipelago of Chiloe
as possible, and examined all the creeks and windings of
the coast, hoping to discover some traces of the shipwreck.
A broken spar, or any fragment of the vessel, would have put
them in the right track; but nothing whatever was visible,
and the yacht continued her route, till she dropped anchor
at the port of Talcahuano, forty-two days from the time she
had sailed out of the fogs of the Clyde.

Glenarvan had a boat lowered immediately, and went on shore,
accompanied by Paganel. The learned geographer gladly availed
himself of the opportunity of making use of the language he had
been studying so conscientiously, but to his great amazement,
found he could not make himself understood by the people.
"It is the accent I've not got," he said.

"Let us go to the Custom-house," replied Glenarvan.