"If we are here an hour hence, we shall never see land again."
"Luckily the squall blows from the sea," said Nata, "and we shall be driven straight on shore."
"All right," said Nagato; "all the better, that I don't like the way the boat dances. Will this last long?"
"Of course," said Raiden, "our sails may help us a little; but we shall bob about."
"The wind will carry us along," said Loo, loading himself down with bundles of rope and chain, to make himself heavier.
The sail was hoisted, and the boat began to speed over tire waves; leaping high in the air, then plunging down into the depths, it leaned first to one side, then to the other, the sail touching the water. The horizon was no longer visible on either hand, but only a succession of bills and valleys, which rose and fell; sometimes a wave broke into the boat with a sharp sound, as if a handful of stones had been thrown in.
Loo was stunned by the force of the wind, which never paused, and which dashed a shower of foam into his face; he again felt on his lips the salty taste which he so disliked when he came near drowning.
"Hand me the scoop," said Nata; "the boat is full of water."
Loo hunted about for a moment, and then said: "I can't find it; I see nothing. The wind blows my eye-lashes into my eyes."
The Prince himself picked up the scoop, and handed it to the sailor. "Are we very far from land still?" he asked.