There was no doubt about the rope having been worn through, but the astonishing part of the affair was, that the boat should arrive just at the moment when the settlers were there to seize it on its way, for a quarter of an hour earlier or later it would have been lost in the sea.
No dudaban de que la amarra se había desgarrado; pero lo más admirable del caso era que la piragua hubiese llegado precisamente en el momento en que los colonos se hallaban allí para detenerla, pues un cuarto de hora después habría ido a perderse en el mar.