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He put the sun behind hiiance dwindled away behind the wide around her like the skirts of a court dress; the sharks were already busy in the water It was a sorry, bitter end for so, the best sent down to a silent grave trying to repair their folly, without even hope of glory for reward Riley would be remembered as the man who had lost a transport on a cloudless day; if any of them lived to carry the report back to the Admiralty

The weak sun, shrunken down and pale this far south, did little to wared with salt, but Laurence was sorry to see it sinking, and stillaloft in hunting and play

They spread out as they flew; by dusk, Kulingile and Iskierka were specks to either side like distant sea-birds, growing faint to see as night fell: then there was only the s pace with theh the dark Theyfrom below, and even that died over tih the oilskins and tarpaulins on their backs, whistling, and the ocean muttered in low voices, patient

"I a so tremendously into the wind as the sun caht "I would not mind another one now; it cannot be convenient to fish when I have sooff me"

He put his head down and fleard Laurence could not help but think how o without the ht ht rooted in darker sentiry resentment: They have killed us

There were a few rocky atolls scattered across the Pacific at these latitudes; the chances of finding them with neither map nor compass were not to be counted, and if found, little hope of finding another within flying distance from there These waters were not so hospitable they would sustain three large dragons for long, fishing in the same narrow space

There was soht be spied at even great distance by her lights--so for Cape Horn But such a ship would offer no refuge for any of the dragons; they could only let off their burden, then drown having spent their last strength to rescue the men responsible for the disaster, who deserved better to end their journey at the end of a rope

Laurence wrote a report as they flew, ten ain, tucked inside his coat beneath the tarpaulin If they did find any such refuge, the Ad, and know Riley had been neither a fool nor an incompetent

He was betrayed, rather, by the Folly of foolish men, and the Evil of Liquor: when he and his Officers, who had put forth every hout a Gale of terrific force and danger, over the course of five Days and Nights, were overcoreat ently during the Crisis, in Shifts, than the Officers used the Ruin on all alike in their rieve to communicate such a Loss to you, which must be felt all the Worse for its inutility, and the unwarranted Har Officers ofyou,any Ill-Report of him which may be bruited around shall be without Merit

He enclosed thiswith his report, folded within a square of oilcloth saay from the one wrapped around hi rope He at least had little likelihood of having to face her in person with such evil nehich event would have been all the more painful for his doubts of her reaction He hoped Riley would be mourned; Riley deserved to be mourned; Laurence was not at all certain that he would be Harcourt hadchild, who indeed had proved to be a boy, and she had shown only the greatest impatience since with Riley’s every attempt to fulfill his duty to her

"Roland, you will keep that by you, if you please," he said, and she roused fro half-slu, for safe-keeping "I hope you will see the letter reaches Captain Harcourt, if you have the chance"

"I will, sir," she said, calh there had been any real hope of that; it was already afternoon, on the second day The dragons had been aloft steadily for nearly thirty hours

"I think there are so over Te"

Te all their sto of alarm froed into the pod and came aith three of the dolphins in his talons; he ate the in his flight, blood spattering back against his breast

"That is very heartening, Ihis talons clean, when he had finished "And I a; if you had not all run wild, you would not have had to be put into the netting, anyway," he added, to the unhappy sailors "I suppose we have not had any sight of land?"

"Not yet," Laurence said

Gerry’s sharp young eyes caught a patch of foa: only a scrap of reef so Laurence signaled to Granby and De perched on their hind legs with the waves washing over the all pulled the there to keep out of the water as best they could: they had by now given over co At last, Iskierka roused and said crabbily, "Wecolder and colder," and shook the spray off her wings before leaping back into the air

"Are you ready?" Laurence asked Teh it came out mostly in a , and then one ain

The day crept away slowly, -beats; Temeraire did not bother to open his eyes very often, but only altered his course if Laurence touched hiently and spoke to correct their path He startled awake once with cold water and yells, and jerked hi swell had struck hi his belly

He would have liked to reassure Laurence that this had only been an accident--the result of a n He was tired, of course, but not nearly that tired; there was nothing for Laurence to fear But soreat effort to draw breath, and when he had drawn it, he preferred to use it for flying, instead; the air was so very cold

Iskierka and Kulingile were also flying very low to the water--they were keeping in closer company now Temeraire saw a spray rise up around Iskierka’s tail for a radually sinking also Teain and roared--a paltry sort of roar, with nothing of the real force which he could put behind it; only a gesture of defiance, but it rang across the water, and Iskierka’s head jerked up: she looked over and blew out a thin ragged streaether all three of them beat back up determinedly