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142 DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. CHAPTER XIII. LAND AT LAST. IT was not long before Dîck's sanguine expectatîons werc partially realized, for on the very next day, which was the 27th, the barometer began to rise, not rapidly, but steadily, indicatîng that îts élévation would probably continue. The sea remained exceedingly rough, but the violence of the wind, which had veered slightly towards the west, had perceptibly diminished. The tempest had passed its greatest fury, and was beginning to wear itself out. Not a sail, however, could yet be hoîsted ; the smallest show of canvas would hâve been carried away in an instant ; nevertheless Dick hoped that before another twenty-four hours were over, the " Pilgrim " might be able to carry a storm-jib. In the course of the night the wind moderated still more, and the pitching of the shîp had so far diminished that the passengers began to reappear on deck. Mrs. Weldon was the first to leave her enforced imprisonment. She was anxious to speak to Dick, whom she might hâve ex- pected to find looking pale and wan after his almost super- human excrtions and loss of sleep. But she was mistaken ; however much the lad might suffer from the strain in after- years, at présent he exhibited no symptoms of failing energy. " Well, Captain Dick, how are you ? " she said, as she advanced towards him holding out her hand. Dick smiled. "You call me captain, Mrs. Weldon/' he answered, '^but you do not seem disposed to submit implicitly to