"Well, I guess I'm half a chicken," said Ray.
"Why," said Rufe, "has you got two stummicks?"
"No," returned Ray, a wail in his tone, "but I've got two appetites."
And Rufe rolled on the deck.
"Well, now," said Norris at last, "that voodoo skunk can sail when he gets ready, the sooner the better."
"Yes," agreed Captain Marat. "Now we ready for heem. He ver' clever if he fool us some more, now."
Norris volunteered to take the watch till two o'clock; then Robert offered to follow him. All others turned in.
I awoke, hearing Robert in talk with Captain Marat. "It looks to me like the Orion's moving, slowly—no sails up," Robert was saying. In a little while the two climbed into a small boat. The moon had gone down, and it was quite dark. The night breeze was still blowing gently. I again dozed off, too tired to note what was going forward.
I do not know how long I slept this time, but when I opened my eyes next, it was to hear blocks creaking; and jib and mainsail were already set, and the foresail was going up. Marat and Robert had gone to the isle, and hurried over opposite the Orion's berth, to find that that schooner's crew had been warping the vessel out toward the south passage. The two waited till the Orion had made sufficient progress to set her sails and attain headway, then they had hurried back to set the Pearl in pursuit again.
The tail end of a squall came to give us a boost. The Orion got a greater portion of it.