And now when the five boats were ready, and the order given to "pull
away," each man seemed to pause and take a last fond look at the old
ship, as if a lingering affection caused him to part from her with
reluctance. And as they stood taking this last look, the light again
broke forth, giving to the strange scene a weird and bewildering effect.
The boats now pulled away, Tite's boat taking the lead. They had agreed
to keep together as much as possible, (and to that end made signals at
short intervals,) gain the ocean and seek relief along the shore.
Darkness soon shut in again, however, and the noises were so bewildering
that the signals from the boats could not be understood, and they
separated never to meet again.
We must now follow the fortunes of the boat commanded by Tite. He had
been fortunate enough to secure a compass, which, though it did him
little good while in the cave, would be of great assistance to him
outside. The question as to how the entrance of the cave bore, and the
surest way of gaining it, was of most importance now.
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