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.
Eux ne mettaient pas en doute que l'amarre ne se fût usée; mais le plus étonnant de l'affaire, c'était véritablement que la pirogue fût arrivée juste au moment où les colons se trouvaient là pour la saisir au passage, car, un quart d'heure plus tard, elle eût été se perdre en mer.