"And suddenly the captain stretched his right hand out before us, pointed to something almost invisible in the middle of the sea, and said:
"'There's your ship!'
"'The Marie Joseph?'
"'Yes.'
"I was stupefied. This black, almost imperceptible speck, which looked to me like a rock, seemed at least three miles from land.
"I continued:
"'But, captain, there must be a hundred fathoms of water in that place.'
"He began to laugh.
"'A hundred fathoms, my child! Well, I should say about two!'
"He was from Bordeaux. He continued: