About ten I think the moon rose and shone very yellow; the sea looked vast, dark, and lonely when the orb floated clear of the dusky atmosphere over the edge of the ocean, and cast a sickly flickering wake upon the black tremble of waters under her. There was a little clock in the cabin; it had been set right at noon that day: when it was midnight by it I roused Will and the mate, and Tom and I went to sleep in our respective berths.
CHAPTER XLI
SHE VIEWS THE ISLAND OF TRISTAN D’ACUNHA
I fell asleep quickly and my slumber was sweet, for it was one long dream of Tom. Earnest and full of passion at times had been our talk whilst we stood together at the wheel, and the imaginations of my slumber were richly coloured. At four Will awoke me, and I rose with the promptitude of a sailor, and had relieved Mr. Bates at the wheel before Tom came out of his berth. It was very dark. My cousin, instead of going immediately to his bed, went up the steps to the top of the house; he stayed two or three minutes, then putting his head over that we who stood below might hear him, for Tom had now arrived, he cried out: ‘I guess I was right; now I’m sure of it. Captain Butler, there’s a sail dead in our wake, and she seems to be overhauling us hand over fist.’
Tom and the mate ran up; presently Will looked over and called down: ‘Marian, starboard—d’ye understand me?’ I answered by immediately putting the helm over.
‘Steady!’ shouted Tom. I whirled the little wheel back and kept the brig’s head straight at about two points off the course we had been pursuing.
‘Take the wheel, Johnstone,’ Tom cried, ‘and keep your ears open, my lad.’
I surrendered the spokes to my cousin and mounted the steps with eagerness and expectation; I had caught a note of excitement in my sweetheart’s voice. The shift of helm had brought the wind almost directly over the stern of the brig; I looked along the white line of her wake, thinking to see the ship at the extremity of it, but, beholding nothing, I asked Mr. Bates where the sail was. He pointed over the lee quarter, and there to be sure hung a big dim cloud of canvas.
The moon was low and without power; the stars had grown wan since midnight, as though to the approach of dawn or as if to a gathering of windy thickness; the ship astern was visible by a kind of light of her own in her canvas—she showed as an iceberg might by night, or a tall snow-covered hill. I stood near Tom, the mate joined us, and we watched the white shadow growing out of the gloom.