"But may she not founder at any moment?" I said to Curtis, when
I had joined him for a while upon the poop.
"Everything depends upon the weather," he replied, in his calmest
manner; "that, of course, may change at any hour. One thing,
however, is certain, the 'Chancellor' preserves her equilibrium
for the present."
"But do you mean to say," I further asked, "that she can sail
with two feet of water over her deck?"
"No, Mr. Kazallon, she can't sail, but she can drift with the
wind, and if the wind remains in its present quarter, in the
course of a few days we might possibly sight the coast. Besides,
we shall have our raft as a last resource; in a few hours it will
be ready, and at daybreak we can embark."
"You have not then," I added, "abandoned all hope even yet?" I
marvelled at his composure.
"While there's life there's hope, you know Mr. Kazallon; out of a
hundred chances, ninety-nine may be against us, but perhaps the
odd one may be in our favour. Besides, I believe that our case
is not without precedent. In the year 1795 a three-master, the
'Juno,' was precisely in the same half-sunk, water-logged
condition as ourselves; and yet with her passengers and crew
clinging to her top-masts she drifted for twenty days, until she
came in sight of land, when those who had survived the
deprivation and fatigue were saved. So let us not despair; let
us hold on to the hope that the survivors of the 'Chancellor' may
be equally fortunate.
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