Then she gathered way and fled from us, even as we thought we had her.

It was just as if she knew that we chased her, and would play with us.

We almost lost heart at that time, for it was sickening.
"The ship is bewitched," said Dalfin, and in truth we agreed with him.
Why, and by whom, she had been set adrift thus, or what had befallen her crew, we could not guess.

Still, she was our only hope, and we held on after her again.

Neither Bertric nor myself had the least thought of giving up, for we knew that the chances of the breeze were all in our favour, so long as it came unsteadily as now.