As soon as he reached the vessel he went below, and wrote letters to his sister and Kate, enclosed them in an old piece of an oilskin coat given him by Lowry, then called Tommy, and told him to go on shore again, and secure it to Waterboy's mane. His object was to allay any fears about him if the two station horses got to Ocho Rios before the lugger. The yellow packet would be sure to be noticed, and opened. He had carefully avoided any mention of his encounter with Aulain, and had also cautioned Tommy on the subject: he did not want his sister and Kate to know anything of the matter, from himself at least. He had decided upon a pardonable fiction—he would tell them that he had been thrown from his horse, and received a rather bad cut; of his bullet wound and the tragedy at the Rocky Waterholes he made no allusion.
“It's no use worrying them over nothing,” he said to Lowry, when he had told the seaman the story of the attack by Forreste and his gang. “In a week or so I'll be as fit as you are. But you'll have to back me up in what I have written about you being afraid that we are in for a week or two of calm; they won't forgive me in a hurry if they ascertain that instead of being becalmed, the Fanny Sabina was cruising merrily about the Gulf of Carpentaria.”
Lowry gave his promise, and then he and his passenger had supper on deck under the awning which covered the smart little vessel's deck from bow to stern.
At dawn next morning, Gerrard, after a delightfully refreshing sleep, was awakened by the captain.
“Rouse up, Mr Gerrard. We're underway, and I want to know the programme.”
“How far to Cape Keerweer?”
“Four days' sail in such light weather as this.”
“That will suit me. I'll be able to begin to enjoy myself by then, and I want to see those big lagoons near the Cape. Tommy says that they are alive with game, and you and I can put in a day or two there.”
“Just the thing. I've a couple of good guns on board,” then he turned to the man at the tiller.
“Keep her south, my lad. For'ard there, set the squaresail. Now, Mr Gerrard, you'll see what the little Fanny Sabina can do even in a light wind like this,” and Lowry looked with an air of pride at his dainty little craft.