Philip
closed them again, to ascertain what were the man's intentions: he
found that he gradually dragged out the chain, and, when the relic was
clear, attempted to pass the whole over his head, evidently to gain
possession of it. Upon his attempt Philip started up and seized him by
the waist. "Indeed!" cried Philip, with an indignant look, as he released the
chain from the pilot's hand. But Schriften appeared not in the least confused at being detected
in his attempt: looking with his malicious one eye at Philip, he
mockingly observed:

"Does that chain hold her picture?--he! he!" Vanderdecken rose, pushed him away, and folded his arms. "I advise you not to be quite so curious, Master Pilot, or you may
repent it." "Or perhaps," continued the pilot, quite regardless of Philip's wrath,
"it may be a child's caul, a sovereign remedy against drowning." "Go forward to your duty, sir," cried Philip. "Or, as you are a Catholic, the finger-nail of a saint; or, yes, I
have it--a piece of the holy cross." Philip started. "That's it! that's it!" cried Schriften, who now went forward to where
the seamen were standing at the gangway. "News for you, my lads!" said
he; "we've a bit of the holy cross aboard, and so we may defy the
devil!" Philip, hardly knowing why, had followed Schriften as he descended the
poop-ladder, and was forward on the quarter-deck, when the pilot made
this remark to the seamen. "Ay! ay!" replied an old seaman to the pilot; "not only the devil, but
the _Flying Dutchman_ to boot." "The _Flying Dutchman_" thought Philip, "can that refer to--?" and
Philip walked a step or two forward, so as to conceal himself behind
the mainmast, hoping to obtain some information, should they continue
the conversation. In this he was not disappointed. "They say that to meet with him is worse than meeting with the devil,"
observed another of the crew. "Who ever saw him?" said another. "He has been seen, that's sartain, and just as sartain that ill-luck
follows the vessel that falls in with him." "And where is he to be fallen in with?" "O! they say that's not so sartain--but he cruises off the Cape." "I should like to know the whole long and short of the story," said a
third. "I can only tell what I've heard. It's a doomed vessel; they were
pirates, and cut the captain's throat, I believe." "No! no!" cried Schriften, "the captain is in her now--and a villain
he was. They say that, like somebody else on board of us now, he left
a very pretty wife, and that he was very fond of her." "How do they know that, pilot?" "Because he always wants to send letters home when he boards vessels
that he falls in with. But, woe to the vessel that takes charge of
them!--she is sure to be lost, with every soul on board!" "I wonder where you heard all this," said one of the men. "Did you
ever see the vessel?" "Yes, I did!" screamed Schriften; but, as if recovering himself, his
scream subsided into his usual giggle, and he added, "but we need not
fear her, boys; we've a bit of the true cross on board." Schriften
then walked aft as if to avoid being questioned, when he perceived
Philip by the mainmast. "So, I'm not the only one curious?--he! he! Pray did you bring that on
board, in case we should fall in with the _Flying Dutchman?_"

"I fear no _Flying Dutchman_," replied Philip, confused. "Now I think of it, you are of the same name; at least they say that
his name was Vanderdecken--eh?" "There are many Vanderdeckens in the world besides me," replied
Philip, who had recovered his composure; and having made this reply,
he walked away to the poop of the vessel. "One would almost imagine this malignant one-eyed wretch was aware of
the cause of my embarkation," mused Philip; "but no! that cannot be. Why do I feel such a chill whenever he approaches me? I wonder if
others do; or whether it is a mere fancy on the part of Amine and
myself. I dare ask no questions.--Strange, too, that the man should
feel such malice towards me. I never injured him. What I have just
overheard confirms all; but there needed no confirmation. Oh, Amine! Amine! but for thee, and I would rejoice to solve this riddle at the
expense of life. God in mercy check the current of my brain," muttered
Philip, "or my reason cannot hold its seat!" In three days the _Ter Schilling_ and her consorts arrived at Table
Bay, where they found the remainder of the fleet at anchor waiting for
them. Just at that period the Dutch had formed a settlement at the
Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian fleets used to water and obtain
cattle from the Hottentot tribes who lived on the coast, and who for
a brass button or a large nail would willingly offer a fat bullock. A
few days were occupied in completing the water of the squadron, and
then the ships, having received from the Admiral their instructions
as to the rendezvous in case of parting company, and made every
preparation for the bad weather which they anticipated, again weighed
their anchors, and proceeded on their voyage. For three days they beat against light and baffling winds, making but
little progress; on the third, the breeze sprang up strong from the
southward, until it increased to a gale, and the fleet were blown down
to the northward of the bay. On the seventh day the _Ter Schilling_
found herself alone, but the weather had moderated. Sail was again
made upon the vessel, and her head put to the eastward, that she might
run in for the land. "We are unfortunate in thus parting with all our consorts," observed
Mynheer Kloots to Philip, as they were standing at the gangway; "but
it must be near meridian, and the sun will enable me to discover our
latitude. It is difficult to say how far we may have been swept by the
gale and the currents to the northward. Boy, bring up my cross-staff,
and be mindful that you do not strike it against anything as you come
up." The cross-staff at that time was the simple instrument used to
discover the latitude, which it would give to a nice observer to
within five or ten miles. Quadrants and sextants were the invention
of a much later period. Indeed, considering that they had so little
knowledge of navigation and the variation of the compass, and that
their easting and westing could only be computed by dead reckoning,
it is wonderful how our ancestors traversed the ocean in the way they
did, with comparatively so few accidents. "We are full three degrees to the northward of the Cape," observed
Mynheer Kloots, after he had computed his latitude. "The currents must
be running strong; the wind is going down fast, and we shall have a
change, if I mistake not." Towards the evening it fell calm, with a heavy swell setting towards
the shore; shoals of seals appeared on the surface, following the
vessel as she drove before the swell; the fish darted and leaped in
every direction, and the ocean around them appeared to be full of life
as the sun slowly descended to the horizon. "What is that noise we hear?" observed Philip; "it sounds like distant
thunder."