He had, while he was dressing, entertained the hope that on going on deck he should see an English cruiser in pursuit; but the wind had dropped and it was still thick, and his vision was confined to a circle a quarter of a mile in diameter.

Jacques nodded to him good-temperedly, for all on board the privateer were in high spirits.

Their voyage had begun propitiously; the darkness of the preceding night had enabled them to ran the gantlet of the British cruisers in the narrow part of the channel, they were now well down the coast of France, and the fog reduced their chances of being seen by an enemy to a minimum.
"Where about are we ?" Ralph asked.
"We are somewhere off the mouth of the Seine, and I guess some fifteen miles from land." "Oh, we are working down the channel then," Ralph said.

"And where are we going to ?" "Ah! that question is for the captain to answer if he chooses," Jacques said.
"Are we going to touch at the next French port ?" Ralph asked anxiously.
"Not that I know of, unless we have the luck to pick up one of your merchantmen, and we might then escort her into port.

But unless we do that we do not touch anywhere, luckily for you; because, after all, it is a good deal pleasanter cruising in the Belle Marie than kicking your heels inside a prison.