Page 307 - A Knight of the White Cross

shore again, took off his clothes and made them into a bundle; then, wading
out into the water to within fifty yards of the felucca, swam off to it, towing

the bundle behind him.

He had no difficulty in climbing on board, and after dressing himself in the
clothes he had worn at Tripoli, and had kept on underneath the Arab attire,
he pulled the head rope until the craft was nearly over the anchor. He then

loosened the line that brailed up the sail, got the stone that served as an
anchor on board, hauled the sheet aft, and took his place at the tiller. The

wind had dropped a good deal with the sun, but there was still sufficient air
to send the light craft fast through the water. He steered out for a time, and
then, when he thought himself a good mile from the shore, headed east. By

the appearance of the water as it glanced past, he thought that he must be
making from five to six miles an hour, and when the sun rose at five

o'clock, believed that he was nearly forty miles on his way. He now
fastened the tiller with a rope and proceeded to overhaul the craft.

It was decked over forward only, and he crept into the cabin, which was
little more than three feet high. The first thing his eye lit on was a bulky

object hanging against the side, and covered with a thick black blanket of
Arab manufacture. Lifting this, he saw, as he expected, that the object
beneath it was a large waterskin well filled; the blanket had evidently been

placed over it to keep it cool when the sun streamed down on the deck
above it. There was also a large bag of dates, and another of flat cakes, and

he guessed that these had all been put on board the evening before, in
readiness for a start in the morning. This relieved him of his chief anxiety,
for he had been unable to think of any plan for replenishing his supply, or

to concoct a likely tale that, were he obliged to go on shore, would account
for his being alone in a craft of that size.

The wind increased again after sunrise, and being unable to reef the sail
single handed he managed partially to brail it up. All day the craft flew

along with the wind on the quarter, making six or seven miles an hour; and
he felt that by morning he would be well beyond pursuit. On the run he

passed several craft engaged in fishing, but these gave him no uneasiness.
He had in the morning, with some old sails he found, constructed three