Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/162

 136 DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. " There ! look there I " said Hercules, nodding his head and pointing over the larboard sîde, to the north-east Dick could see nothmg. Mrs. Weldon had heard the shout. Unable to restrain her interest, she had lefl her cabin and was at Dick's side. He uttered an expression of sutprise at seeing her, but could not hear anything she said, as her voice was unable to rise above the roaring of the éléments ; she stood, her whole being as it were concentrated in the power of vision, and scanned the horizon in the direction indîcated by Hercules. But ail to no purpose. Suddenly, however, after a while, Dick raised his hand. " Yes ! " he said ; " yes ; sure enough, yonder is land." He clung wlth excîtement to the nettîng ; and Mrs. Weldon, supported by Hercules, strained her eyesyetmore vehemently to get a glimpse of a shore whîch she had b^un to despair of ever reaching. Beyond a doubt an elevated peak was there. It must be about ten miles to leeward. A break in the clouds soon left it more distinct. Some promontory it must be upon the American coast. Without sa il s, of course, the " Pilgrim " had no chance of bearing down direct upon ît ; but at least there was every reason to believe that she would soon reach some other portion of the shore ; perhaps before noon, certainly în a few hours, they must be close to land. The pitching of the ship made it impossible for Mrs- Weldon to keep safe footing on the deck ; accordingly, at a sign from Dick, Hercules Icd her back again to her cabin. Dick did not remain long at the bow, but went thought- fully back to the wheel. He had, indeed, a tremendons responsibility before him. Hère was the land, the land for which thcy had longed so eagerly ; and now that their anticipations were on the point of being realized, what was there, with a hurricane driving them on towards it, to prevent that land being their destruction ? What measures could he take to prevent the schooner beîng dashed to pièces against it ?