"She's too far off, sir, for me to tell what she is," the mate replied.
"Where away?" was the captain's next question.
"About four points on the weather bow," was the reply.
Immediately Captain Dawson gave orders for the Washington to be steered in the direction of the strange sail. It did not take long for us to ascertain that the stranger was headed pretty nearly as we had been; this circumstance strengthened the belief that she was the Warwick, and was heading for the appointed place of meeting. The mate descended to the deck to assist in the maneuvers necessary for our change of course, and when this had been accomplished he returned to his post aloft. By this time he was able to see that the strange vessel looked like the Warwick; he remained there on watch until satisfied that such was the case.
When he came down to the deck again we all waited anxiously for his report to the captain. As he was making it he could not help seeing the anxiety among the crew, and so he turned to us and said,—
"Boys, I'm pretty sure she's the Warwick! I can't be certain yet for half an hour or so, but you needn't feel uneasy about your shipmates!"
We gave a ringing cheer at this announcement, and everybody felt far happier than he was feeling an hour before.
Sure enough she turned out to be the Warwick, and in due time we were up within hailing distance of her. Mr. Johnson answered in a cheery tone the hail of Captain Dawson, and said,—