Page:A Sailor Boy with Dewey.djvu/48

36 "It's the surf, lad!" cried the second mate, "It's rolling up on a shore or over a hidden reef."

"I hope it's ashore. Any kind of land in preference to this never-ending sea," I said. "Can you see anything?"

I asked the latter question, for Watt Brown was already on his feet. Now Vincent followed, and both gazed eastward a long time.

"I think I see something," announced the second mate. "But it looks like smoke more than anything."

"It is smoke, blowing from off shore," put in Vincent. "We must be about ten miles from land."

This announcement filled us with hope, and all, even Captain Kenny, took their turns at the oars with renewed vigor. Inside of an hour the booming of the surf could be heard quite distinctly, while some of the smoke the others had noticed floated almost overhead.

"I see land!" was the second mate's welcome cry presently. "There is a long, low-lying shore and a mountain behind it. We must be at least a hundred miles north of Subig Bay."

We continued to pull until the land could be seen with ease. There was a wide stretch of sandy beach, backed up by tall rocks and a heavy