They approached nearer; but, strange to say, the black point still rose above the water. The captain gazed at it attentively, and, to see better, employed Paganel's telescope.
"It is not a rock," said he, after a moment's examination; "it is a floating object, that rises and falls with the swell."
"Is it not a piece of the Macquarie's mast?" asked Lady Helena.
"No," replied Glenarvan; "no fragment could have drifted so far from the ship."
"Wait!" cried Captain Mangles. "I recognize it. It is the boat."
"The brig's boat?" said Glenarvan.
"Yes, my lord, the brig's boat, bottom upwards."
"The unfortunate sailors!" exclaimed Lady Helena, "they have perished!"
"Yes, madam," continued the captain; "and they might have foreseen it; for in the midst of these breakers, on a stormy sea, and in such profound darkness, they fled to certain death."
"May Heaven have pity on them!" murmured Mary Grant.