There was a festival in the sky that night; the firmament brought out,
one by one, her circlet of diamonds, till the whole were sparkling
like a blaze of light; the pinnace also left a fiery train in her
wake, caused partly by electricity and partly by the phosphorescent
animalculae that people the ocean.
"Willis," said Becker, "I leave it entirely to you to decide the
instant of our return."
The Pilot changed at once the course of the boat, without attempting
to utter a word, so heavy was his heart at this unsuccessful
termination of the expedition.
"It will be curious," observed Fritz, "if we find the _Nelson_, on our
return, snugly at anchor in Safety Bay."
"I have a presentiment," said Jack; "and you will see that we have
been playing at hide-and-seek with the _Nelson_."
Willis shook his head.
"Are there not a thousand accidents to cause a ship to deviate from
her route?"
"Yes, Master Ernest, there are typhoons, and the waterspouts of which
I spoke to you before. In such cases, ships often deviate from their
route, but generally by going to the bottom."
Willis concluded this sentence with a gesture that defies description,
implying annihilation.
"Remember Admiral Socrates, Willis," said Jack; "_what I know best is,
that I know nothing_, and avow that God has other means of
accomplishing his decrees besides typhoons and waterspouts.
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