Not even when Jack and I were in the dungeon had
our case seemed so desperate.
But how the gods repent when they have sunk men in the blackest pit of
despair, sending them a messenger of hope to steady their hearts!
Good fortune had willed that we should be so placed upon the deck that we
faced most easily sternward. Suddenly, as I gazed despondently at the
serrated horizon receding in the distance, a thrill ran through my nerves
at the sight of a dark speck in the sky, which seemed to float over one
of the highest peaks. A second look assured me that it was moving; a
third gave birth to the wild thought that it was in chase. Then I turned
to Edmund and whispered:
"There is something coming behind us."
"Very well, do nothing to attract attention," he returned. "I have seen
it. They are following us."
I said nothing to Jack or Henry, who had not yet caught sight of the
object; but I could not withdraw my eyes from it. Sometimes I persuaded
myself that it was growing larger, and then, with the intensity of my
gaze, it blurred and seemed to fade. At last Jack spied it, and
instantly, in his impetuous way, he exclaimed:
"Edmund! Look there!"
His voice drew Ingra's attention, and immediately the latter observed the
direction of our glances, and himself saw the growing speck.
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