At all events, our boat continued to drop astern unobserved, until the ship itself became very faintly visible to us.  I arose as soon as we were fifty feet from the rudder, and I assumed the direction of affairs as soon as on my feet.  There were a mast and a lugg-sail in the boat, and we stepped the former and set the last, as soon as far enough from the Speedy to be certain we could not be seen.  Putting the helm up, sufficiently to bring the wind on the quarter, I then stood directly out to sea.  All this was accomplished in less than five minutes, by means of what the French call a sudden inspiration!

To be sure, our situation was sufficiently awkward, now we had obtained something that had the semblance of freedom.  Neither of us had a single shilling of money, or an article of clothing but those we wore.  There was not a mouthful of food of any sort in the boat, nor a drop of water.  The night was lowering, and intensely dark; and the wind was blowing fresher than was at all desirable for a boat.  Still we determined to persevere, and we ran boldly off the land, trusting our common fate to Providence.  I hoped we might fall in with some American, bound in or out:  should that fail us, France might be reached, if we had good luck, in the course of less than eight-and-forty hours.

Our situation afforded nothing to occupy the mind, but anxiety.  We could not see a hundred yards, possessed no compass or any other guide on our way than the direction of the wind, and were totally without the means of refreshment or shelter.  Still, we managed to sleep, by turns, each having entire confidence in the skill of both the others.  In this manner we got through the night, feeling no apprehensions of being pursued, the darkness affording an effectual cover.

When the light returned, we discovered nothing in pursuit, though the weather was too thick to admit of our seeing any great distance around the boat.  All the morning we continued running to the northward and eastward, under our single lugg reefed, only keeping clear of the seas that chased us, by dint of good management.  As for eating or drinking, the first was out of the question; though we began to make some little provision to slake our thirst, by exposing our handkerchiefs to the drizzle, in order to wring them when they should become saturated with water.  The coolness of the weather, however, and the mist, contributed to prevent our suffering much, and I do not know that I felt any great desire for either food or water, until towards the middle of the day.  Then we began to converse together, on the subject of dinner, in a jocular way, however, rather than with any very great longings on the subject.  While thus employed, Neb suddenly exclaimed, “dere a sail!”