Chapter Five.
Ship Ahoy!—Rescued—The Kind Skipper—Enter the Orinoco—The Hurricane—Two Men Overboard—Wrecked on a Tree—An Anxious Question—A Curious Scene—We obtain Food—Quacko, our New Friend.
Uncle Paul had charged Arthur and me to call him should there be the slightest change in the weather. The wind, however, continued very light, and the boat glided forward, as well as we could judge, steering by the stars, towards the point we desired to gain. I kept my eyes about me as long as they would consent to remain open, though it was often a difficult task.
Several times I was nodding, when Arthur aroused me with his voice. It must have been about midnight, when, looking astern, I saw a dark shadowy form gliding over the surface of the ocean. I rubbed my eyes, supposing it to be a thing of the imagination; but there it was, not many cable-lengths off, coming up towards us.
“See! see, Arthur! What can that be?” I cried out.
“A sloop or a small schooner!” he exclaimed.
We at once called up Uncle Paul.
“Can she be a vessel sent in chase of us?” I asked.