possible to judge from where the ship lay.  On his return, he reported the weather rough, but moderating, and announced his intention of weighing at daylight next morning.  Satisfied that our days in the southern hemisphere were numbered, and all anxiety to point her head for home, this news was most pleasing, putting all of us in the best of humours, and provoking quite an entertainment of song and dance until nearly four bells.

During the grey of dawn the anchor was weighed.  There was no breath of wind from any quarter, so that it was necessary to lower boats and tow the old girl out to her field of duty.  Before she was fairly clear of the harbour, though, there came a “snifter” from the hills that caught her unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few minutes to scramble on board and hoist our boats up.  As we drew out from the land, we found that a moderate gale was blowing, but the sky was clear, fathomless blue, the sun rose kindly, a heavenly dream of soft delicate colour preceding him; so that, in spite of the strong breeze, all looked promising for a good campaign.  At first no sign could be seen of any of the other ships, though we looked long and eagerly for them.  At last we saw them, four in all, nearly hull down to seaward, but evidently coming in under press of sail.  So slow, however, was their approach that we had made one “leg” across the ground and halfway back before they were near enough for us to descry the reason of their want of speed.  They had each got a whale alongside, and were carrying every rag of canvas they could spread, in order to get in with their prizes.

Our old acquaintance, the chance, was there, the three others being her former competitors, except those who were disabled, still lying in Port William.  Slowly, painfully they laboured along, until well within the mouth of the Straits, when, without any warning, the wind which had been bringing them in suddenly flew round into the northward, putting them at once in a most perilous position.  Too far within the Straits to “up helm” and run for it out to sea; not far enough to get anywhere that an anchor might hold; and there to leeward, within less than a dozen miles, loomed grim and gloomy one of the most terrific rock-bound coasts in the world.  The shift of wind had placed the chance farther to leeward than all the rest, a good mile and a half nearer the shore; and we could well imagine how anxiously her movements were being watched by the others, who, in spite of their jealousy of his good luck, knew well and appreciated fully Paddy’s marvellous seamanship, as well as his unparalleled knowledge of the coast.