After a bounteous supper the two old men talked over the situation until bedtime.  They told many stories about drifting boats and rafts, compared notes about the direction of certain currents, and argued about the best course to pursue under certain very difficult circumstances, such, for example, as a thick snow-storm, midnight, a heavy sea, and a strong current setting upon a lee shore, the ship’s anchor being broken also.  It was generally considered that the situation was likely to be unpleasant.

At ten o’clock Bennie hurried his guests to their beds, where they slept soundly in spite of their anxiety.  Before three in the morning he awaked them, and they were soon ready to reembark.

It was dim morning twilight as they bade adieu to their hospitable entertainers, and but little could be seen.  Captain Corbet raised his head, and peered into the sky above, and sniffed the sea air.

“Wal, railly,” said he, “I do declar ef it don’t railly seem as ef it railly is a change o’ weather—­it railly doos.  Why, ain’t this rich?  We’re ben favored at last.  We’re agoin to hev a clar day.  Hooray!”

The boys could not make out whether the captain’s words were justified or not by the facts, but thought that they detected in the air rather the fragrance of the land than the savor of the salt sea.  There was no wind, however, and they could not see far enough out on the water to know whether there was any fog or not.

Bennie accompanied them to the boat, and urged them to come back if they found the boys and let him rest in Scott’s Bay.  But the fate of that boy was so uncertain, that they could not make any promise about it.

It was a little after three when the Antelope weighed anchor, and dropped down the bay.

There was no wind whatever.  It was the tide only that carried them down to their destination.  Soon it began to grow lighter, and by the time that they were half way, they saw before them the dark outline of the island, as it rose from the black water with its frowning cliffs.

The boys looked at it in silence.  It seemed, indeed, a hopeless place to search in for signs of poor Tom.  How could he ever get ashore in such a place as this, so far out of the line of his drift; or if he had gone ashore there, how could he have lived till now?  Such were the gloomy and despondent thoughts that filled the minds of all, as they saw the vessel drawing nearer and still nearer to those frowning cliffs.

As they went on the wind grew stronger, and they found that it was their old friend—­the sou-wester.  The light increased, and they saw a fog cloud on the horizon, a little beyond Ile Haute.  Captain Corbet would not acknowledge that he had been mistaken in his impressions about a change of weather, but assured the boys that this was only the last gasp of the sou-wester, and that a change was bound to take place before evening.  But though the fog was visible below Ile Haute, it did not seem to come any nearer, and at length the schooner approached the island, and dropped anchor.