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 220 THE FUR COUNTRY, north-east, and although I kr^)w that the island is very flat, and there is not much for the wind to take hold of, still all these little hills and woods spread out like sails must have felt the influence of the wind to a certain extent. Moreover, the sea which bears us along feels its power, and large waves are certainly running in shore. It is impossible for us to have remained in the current which was dragging us to the west, we must have been driven out of it, and tow^ards the south. Last time we took our bearings we were two hundred miles from the coast, and in seven days" " Your reasonings are very just. Lieutenant," replied the Sergeant, " and I feel that whether the wind helps us or not, God will not forsake us. It cannot be His will that so many unfortunate creatures* should perish, and I put my trust in Him ! " The two talked on in broken sentences, making each other^hear above the roaring of the storm, and struggling to pierce the gloom which closed them in on every side ; but they could see nothing, not a ray of light broke the thick darkness. About half-past one a.m. the hurricane ceased for a few minutes, whilst the fury of the sea seemed to be redoubled, and the large waves, lashed into foam, broke over each other with a roar like thunder. Suddenly Hobson seizing his companion's arm shouted — "What?" "The noise of the sea?" " Of course I do, sir," replied Long, listening more attentively, " and the sound of the breakers seems to me not " " Not exactly the same . . . isn't it Sergeant ; listen, listen, it is like the sound of surf ! ... it seems as if the waves were breaking against rocks ! " Hobson and the Sergeant now listened intently, the monotonous sound of the waves dashing against each other in the ofiing was certainly exchanged for the regular rolling sound produced by the breaking of water against a hard body ; they heard the reverberating echoes which told of the neighbourhood of rocks, and they knew that along the whole of the coast of their island there was not a single stone, and nothing more sonorous than the earth and sand of which it was composed ! Could they have been deceived ? The Sergeant tried to rise to liMen better, but he was immediately flung down by the hurricane,
 * ' Sergeant, do you hear ? "