"THE CAPTAIN OF THE 'FORWARD,' "K. Z." Shandon carefully folded this laconic epistle, put it in his pocket, and gave the order for departure. His voice, which rang above the east wind, had something solemn in it. Soon the _Forward_ had passed the docks, and directed by a Liverpool pilot whose little cutter followed, went down the Mersey with the current. The crowd precipitated itself on to the exterior wharf along the Victoria Docks in order to get a last glimpse of the strange brig. The two topsails, the foresail and the brigantine sail were rapidly set up, and the _Forward_, worthy of its name, after having rounded Birkenhead Point, sailed with extraordinary fleetness into the Irish Sea. CHAPTER V OUT AT SEA The wind was favourable, though it blew in April gales. The _Forward_ cut through the waves, and towards three o'clock crossed the mail steamer between Liverpool and the Isle of Man. The captain hailed from his deck the last adieu that the _Forward_ was destined to hear. At five o'clock the pilot left the command in the hands of Richard Shandon, the commander of the brig, and regained his cutter, which, turning round, soon disappeared on the south-west. Towards evening the brig doubled the Calf of Man at the southern extremity of the island. During the night the sea was very rough, but the _Forward_ behaved well, left the point of Ayr to the north-west, and directed its course for the Northern Channel. Johnson was right; once out at sea the maritime instinct of the sailors gained the upper hand. Life on board went on with regularity. The doctor breathed in the sea air with delight; he walked about vigorously in the squalls, and for a _savant_ he was not a bad sailor. "The sea is splendid," said he to Johnson, coming up on deck after breakfast. "I have made its acquaintance rather late, but I shall make up for lost time." "You are right, Mr. Clawbonny. I would give all the continents of the world for a corner of the ocean. They pretend that sailors soon get tired of their profession, but I've been forty years on the sea and I love it as much as the first day." "It is a great pleasure to feel a good ship under one's feet, and if I'm not a bad judge the _Forward_ behaves herself well." "You judge rightly, doctor," answered Shandon, who had joined the talkers; "she is a good ship, and I acknowledge that a vessel destined for navigation amongst ice has never been better equipped. That reminds me that thirty years ago Captain James Ross, sailing for the North-West passage----" "In the _Victory_," added the doctor quickly, "a brig about the same tonnage as ours, with a steam-engine too." "What! you know about that?"