"I am so glad you have got back!" exclaimed she; "I was sure you were drowned. Where is John? He isn't with you, Paul! O, he is——"
"Fast asleep on board the Fawn, mother."
"Then he is safe."
"Yes; safe—yes."
"You have had a terrible time of it—haven't you?"
"Not very bad, mother; the wind and tide were against us, and we couldn't get up without carrying more sail than I thought it was safe to carry; so I ran under the lee of an island, and anchored."
"But what did you start back in the night for?"
"The wind hauled round to the northeast, and blew so that we dragged our anchor, and had to make sail to keep off the rocks."
"And John is safe, you say?"
"Perfectly safe. But why are you not in bed, mother?"