As they fought through the night for the flaws of wind which came out of all quarters, the short watches of the Battle-Axe found that out and cursed accordingly. But it was a very curious thing that the Star of the South was never so easy to handle.
'That foreyard goes round now,' said old Semple, 'as if it was hung like a balance. This is very surprising so it is.'
He mentioned the remarkable fact to M'Gill when he came on deck at four in the morning, and so long as it was dark, as it was till nearly six, M'Gill found it so too. And both watches were in a surprisingly good temper. For nothing tries men so much as 'brace up' and 'square away' every five minutes as they work their ship through a belt of calm. But as soon as the sun was up the Star worked just as badly as she did before.
'It's maist amazin',' said M'Gill.
During the day the calm renewed itself and gave every one a rest. But once more the breeze came at night, and the amazing easiness of the Star showed itself when the darkness fell across the sea. Ryder and Semple and M'Gill were full of wonder and delight.
'The character of a ship will change sometimes,' said Semple. 'It's just like a collision that will alter her deviation. This calm has worked a revolution.'
Because of this revolution the Star got ahead of the Battle-Axe every change and chance of the wind. She got ahead with such effect that on the third day the Battle-Axe was hull down to the south'ard, and when the fourth dawn broke she was out of sight. This meant much more than may appear, for the Star picked up the North-East Trade nearly four days earlier than her rival, and a better Trade at that; for when the Battle-Axe crawled into its area it was half-sister to a calm, while the Star was doing eight knots an hour. And as there was now no need to touch tack or sheet, there was no solution of the mysterious ease with which she worked in the dark. How long the mystery might have remained such no one can say, but it was owing to Mrs. Ryder's curious behaviour that it came out. She laughed in the strangest manner till Ryder got quite nervous.
'Those chaps that jumped overboard from the Battle-Axe laughed like that,' he told her in great anxiety.
And she giggled more and more.
'Shall I try marmalade?' she asked. Then she sat down by him and went off into something so like hysterics that a mere man might be excused for thinking she was crazy.