.

AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS.
As the affrighted cormorants had winged their flight towards the south, there sprang up a sanguine hope on board the schooner that land might be discovered in that direction.

Thither, accordingly, it was determined to proceed, and in a few hours after quitting the island of the tomb, the _Dobryna_ was traversing the shallow waters that now covered the peninsula of Dakhul, which had separated the Bay of Tunis from the Gulf of Hammamet.

For two days she continued an undeviating course, and after a futile search for the coast of Tunis, reached the latitude of 34 degrees.
Here, on the 11th of February, there suddenly arose the cry of "Land!" and in the extreme horizon, right ahead, where land had never been before, it was true enough that a shore was distinctly to be seen.

What could it be?
It could not be the coast of Tripoli; for not only would that low-lying shore be quite invisible at such a distance, but it was certain, moreover, that it lay two degrees at least still further south.