She was racing along easily, and presented a perfect picture, with the sun bringing out her white clouds of canvas in stronger contrast against the clear blue sky overhead and tumbling ocean around, and making the glass of the skylight and bits of brass-work about on the deck gleam with a golden radiance as it slowly sank below the horizon, a great globe of fire like a molten mass of metal on our weather bow, the vessel keeping always on the same starboard tack, for she wore round as the wind shifted.
Oh, yes, we were going; and so, evidently, Captain Gillespie thought when he came up the companion presently and took his place alongside Mr Mackay on the poop.
"This is splendid!" said he, rubbing his hands as usual and addressing the first mate, while I crept away further aft, holding on to the bulwarks to preserve my footing, the deck being inclined at such a sharp angle from the ship heeling over with the wind.

"I don't know when the old barquey ever went so free." "Nor I, sir," replied the other with equal enthusiasm; "she's fairly outdoing herself.

We never had such a voyage before, I think, sir." "No," said the captain.

"A good start, a fairish wind and plenty of it, a decent crew as far as I can judge as yet, and every prospect of a good voyage.

What more can a man wish for ?" "Nothing, sir." "And I forgot, Mackay, while speaking of our luck, for you know I like to be particular, and when I say a thing I mean a thing--no stowaways on board!" "True, sir," responded the first mate with a laugh, knowing the captain's great abhorrence of these uninvited and unwelcome passengers.
"I think it's the first voyage we've never been troubled with one." "Aye, aye, they're getting afraid of me, Mackay, that's the reason," said Captain Gillespie chuckling at this.