Then the rain came on again, and they saw her no more.
All down the coast of Portugal the weather grew more heavy day by day, and when they reached St.Vincent's Cape and bore round for Cadiz, it blew a great gale.

Now it was that for the third time they viewed the _San Antonio_ labouring ahead of them, nor, except at night, did they lose sight of her any more until the end of that voyage.

Indeed, on the next day they nearly came up with her, for she tried to beat in to Cadiz, but, losing one of her masts in a fierce squall, and seeing that the _Margaret_, which sailed better in this tempest, would soon be aboard of her, abandoned her plan, and ran for the Straits of Gibraltar.
Past Tarifa Point they went, having the coast of Africa on their right; past the bay of Algegiras, where the _San Antonio_ did not try to harbour; past Gibraltar's grey old rock, where the signal fires were burning, and so at nightfall, with not a mile between them, out into the Mediterranean Sea.
Here the gale was furious, so that they could scarcely carry a rag of canvas, and before morning lost one of their topmasts.

It was an anxious night, for they knew not if they would live through it; moreover, the hearts of Castell and of Peter were torn with fear lest the Spaniard should founder and take Margaret with her to the bottom of the sea.

When at length the wild, stormy dawn broke, however, they saw her, apparently in an evil case, labouring away upon their starboard bow, and by noon came to within a furlong of her, so that they could see the sailors crawling about on her high poop and stern.