CHAPTER XIII
On the day after the crew of the Petrel had been taken on board the barque the wind freshened and was so much to the south of east that the vessel was enabled to sail in a north-easterly direction, a course which would bring her to the vicinity of the Trinidad and Martin Vas Archipelago.
When Carew came on deck in the morning he found Baptiste there before him. The Provençal walked up to him jauntily, twirling his long black moustache, and looking jubilant. "I have seen young Hallé again," he said, in a low voice. "He is very bad. The symptoms are unmistakable; but no one suspects the truth so far. Two other men are complaining of headache."
"Let the accursed plague work its way," said Carew gloomily, "but tell me nothing about it."
"So be it, sir," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
The springing up of so favourable a wind put the captain of La Bonne Esperance in a very contented frame of mind. In his delight he became more talkative than was his wont, and at frequent intervals during the day sought out Carew in order to converse with him.
Carew, for his part, did his utmost—without appearing churlish—to avoid the company of Captain Mourez; for he recognised him as being a kind-hearted and an honest man.
The captain observed his passenger's unsociable mood, and, attributing this to his sorrow at the loss of his yacht, endeavoured to cheer him with lively gossip, but produced the opposite result.
Nothing noteworthy occurred during the day; the wind held steady, and the vessel made good progress. At about ten o'clock that night, Carew was sitting alone in the saloon, killing thought by reading a French novel which the captain had lent him, when Mourez himself came in. His face bore a very anxious expression.