"No, Dan. I don't know whether we have drifted north or south of it. At ordinary times the current runs up the coast, but the wind this morning was blowing from the north of west, and may have been doing so all through the night for anything I know. Well, the great thing is to make land. We are almost sure to come across some fishing-boats, but, if not, we must run ashore and find a house."
They continued sailing until Vincent's watch told him it was twelve o'clock, by which time the coast was quite close. The wind now almost dropped, and, lowering their sail, they rowed in until, on lowering the anchor, they found that it touched the ground. Then they lay down and slept till morning. Dan was the first to waken.
"Dar are some houses dere close down by the shore, sah, and some men getting out a boat."
"That's all right, Dan," Vincent said as he roused himself and looked over. "We shall learn soon where we are."
In a quarter of an hour the fishing-boat put off, and the lads at once rowed to it.
"How far are we from the mouth of the York River?" Vincent asked the two negroes on board.
"About twenty miles, sah. Where you come from?"
"We were off the mouth of the river, and were blown off in the gale."
"You tink yourself berry lucky you get back," one of them said. "Berry foolish to go out like dat when not know how to get back."
"Well, we have managed to get back now, you see, and none the worse for it. Now, Dan, up with the sail again."