We thus had the ice-island between us and the possibly hostile ship.

With our glasses we now watched her movements attentively.

A number of officers were on the quarter-deck.
"You don't call that a ship-of-war ?" Wade said at length.
"Oh, no!" replied the captain; "though it is probably an armed ship.
All the company's ships go armed, I've heard." "There!" exclaimed Kit.

"They're letting down a boat!" "That's so!" cried Wade.

"They're going to pay us a visit sure!" "They probably don't want to trust their heavy-laden ship up here among the islands," said the captain.
"It's their long-boat, I think," said Kit.