No, I am certain she has not, either by sail, or by her motor. The
sea is as calm at sunrise as it was at sunset. If the _Ebba_ has been
going ahead while I slept, she is at any rate, stationary now.
The noise to which I referred, is caused by men hurrying to and fro on
deck--by men heavily laden. I fancy I can also hear a similar noise
in the hold beneath my cabin floor, the entrance to which is situated
abaft the foremast. I also feel that something is scraping against the
schooner's hull. Have boats come alongside? Are the crew engaged in
loading or unloading merchandise?
And yet we cannot possibly have reached our journey's end. The Count
d'Artigas said that we should not reach our destination till this
afternoon. Now, I repeat, she was, last night, fully fifty or sixty
miles from the nearest land, the group of the Bermudas. That she could
have returned westward, and can be in proximity to the American coast,
is inadmissible, in view of the distance. Moreover, I have reason to
believe that the _Ebba_ has remained stationary all night. Before I
fell asleep, I know she had stopped, and I now know that she is not
moving.
However, I shall see when I am allowed to go on deck. My cabin door is
still bolted, I find on trying it; but I do not think they are likely
to keep me here when broad daylight is on.
An hour goes by, and it gradually gets lighter. I look out of my
porthole. The ocean is covered by a mist, which the first rays of the
sun will speedily disperse.
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