"You should have seen the rage the Frenchmen were in when I said that, and heard how they _sacred_ and swore. But I calmed them down by reminding them that they had taken some of our frigates, and that it was only to be expected that we should take some of theirs in return." The captain gave me a side-berth in the little cabin, occupied generally, I found, by one of the mates. It was somewhat close, but I was soon asleep, and slept soundly until daylight the next morning. By noon a breeze sprang up from the eastward, and under all sail we stood away to the southward. By nightfall we were well in with the French coast, but farther to the west than I expected. "The tide will soon make in shore, and we must beat back to the eastward," observed the skipper. "You mustn't hope, howsomdever, young gentleman, to get ashore till to-morrow morning." This mattered little to me, as I had no great objection to spend a few hours more on board. During the night I awoke, and found the vessel perfectly motionless. "Can another calm have come on?" I thought. I was going off to sleep again, when I heard a footstep in the cabin, and, looking out of my bunk, by the light from the swinging lamp I saw the skipper examining some papers at the table. "Has the wind dropped again?" I inquired. "No, we are at anchor; we have been chased by a _chasse-maree_, and so, to escape her, we slipped in here; and here we shall remain perhaps for some days, till the coast is clear," he answered. "In that case, captain, I shall prefer going on shore, and making my way overland to my friend's house. I shall find conveyances of some sort, I suppose?" I said. "As to that I can't say. It isn't much of a place, but you may get along in a country cart, or hire a nag." As I had no objection to seeing something of the country, I did not complain of this, and as soon as it was daylight I turned out. Being anxious not to lose time, I got Captain Long to send me ashore with my valise. A small cabaret being open, I intended to take up my quarters there until I could obtain some means of conveyance to the Chateau La Touche. A cup of coffee, which was at once offered me, enabled me to wait until a more substantial breakfast was prepared. In the meantime I took a stroll through the village. It was a small place, and, as far as I could judge, primitive in the extreme. It was the first time I had been in France, yet, as I spoke the language pretty well, I felt myself perfectly at home. Indeed, the people I addressed took me for a Frenchman, and were extremely civil. On getting back to the inn, the landlady asked me if I had been to see the wonderful animal which had been landed some time before by a fisherman, who had found him, she said, on board a vessel, navigating her all by himself. "What sort of an animal?" I inquired.