CAPE COLORADO TO CAPE CAJON 149 



them. Having passed the entrance to Guadiana 

 Bay we followed, about a mile out, the straight 

 densely forested shore line of the low peninsula. 

 Then the wind ceased and a fine drizzling rain set 

 in. We performed various feats of necromancy 

 to entice the wind, but by some error in the process 

 we brought only puffs from the wrong direction. 

 A succession of calms, hard squalls, and shifting 

 light airs was meted out to us, and the fine rain 

 never ceased. Only some attempts to dredge 

 from the launch during the calm periods seemed 

 an effective method of bringing wind from the 

 right direction to our sails and then we would 

 have to scramble aboard again, and the wind 

 would at once disappear. Besides this, the launch 

 engine had caught some new ailment from the 

 damp air, that left it very weak. We gathered 

 about it, felt its pulse, and inspected its tongue, 

 but our solemn consultations took on the funereal 

 aspect as of those administering the last sad obse- 

 quies to a dearly beloved engine. Let it be re- 

 corded that a high-tension jump-spark ignition 

 system is not the best for exposure to rain and 

 spray. A low-tension make-and-break outfit is 

 more reliable under such conditions, and absolute 



