going to have a terrible storm! The equinoctial gale should have come a week ago, but it is here at last!”
What Gysbert predicted was quite correct. The continual east wind had at last shifted to the northwest, bringing with it the strong, salt smell of the sea. The sky was still beautifully clear and blue, but a weather-wise person would have certainly read the signs of coming change. Dirk Willumhoog was now far out of sight, but they saw Vrouw Hansleer come out to the yard and scan the horizon anxiously.
“Here, Jacqueline,” said Gysbert when the woman had gone in, “give me that knife now, while thou dost take a rest. We must get along even faster, for if the wind holds and the water rises, there will be fine doings to-night, and we want to be prepared to take our part. Look! I think the top of this end bar will give way in a short time.”
“This surely will float the fleet, will it not?” asked his sister. “The night I was
