11
a.m.
But I fancy I have succeeded in persuading him that he will do no good by hanging about the coast hereabouts . We want no Frenchmen to help us with our work ; and I gave him so very discouraging an account of the state of things here , that I expect they will take a trip northward after looking into the river . '' We continued running off the land for the remainder of that day , the whole of the following night , and up to noon next day , with a breeze which sent us along , under topsails only , at a rate of about six knots an hour . On the following day , at six bells in the forenoon watch -LRB- 11 a.m. -RRB- , the look-out aloft reported a something which he took to be floating wreckage , about three points on the port bow ; and Mr Smellie , our second lieutenant , at once went aloft to the foretopmast crosstrees to have a look at it through his telescope . A single glance sufficed to acquaint him with the fact that the object , which was about six miles distant , was a raft with people upon it , who were making such signals as it was in their power to make with the object of attracting our attention . Upon the receipt of this news on deck Captain Vernon at once ordered the ship 's course to be altered to the direction of the raft , a gun being fired and the ensign run up to the gaff-end at the same time . It was a trifle past noon when the _ Daphne _ rounded-to about a hundred yards to windward of the raft , and sent away a boat to pick up those upon it .