Part 4 (1/2)

”Never mind, Larry,” said Will Osten, a.s.sisting to spread the sea-biscuit and salt junk on one of the thwarts; ”there's a good time coming.”

”Sure, so's Christmas, doctor, but it's a long way off,” said Larry.

”Fetch me the scales; now then, doctor, hold 'em,” said the captain, carefully weighing out a portion of biscuit and meat which he handed to one of the men. This process was continued until all had been supplied, after which a small quant.i.ty of water and lime-juice was also measured out to each.

The breakfast was meagre, but it was much needed, and as the sea had gone down during the night and the morning was beautiful, it was eaten not only in comfort, but with some degree of cheerfulness. While they were thus engaged, Goff looked up and exclaimed suddenly, ”Hallo! look here, boys!”

Every one started up and gazed in the direction indicated, where they saw something black floating on the water. The captain, who had taken the precaution before leaving the s.h.i.+p to sling his telescope over his shoulder, applied it to his eye, and in a few seconds exclaimed, ”It's the jolly-boat capsized! Out with the oars, boys--be smart! There's some of 'em clinging to the keel.”

It need scarcely be said that the men seized the oars and plied them with all their might. Under the influence of these and the sail together they soon drew near, and then it was distinctly seen that three men were clinging to the boat--it followed, of course, that all the rest must have been drowned. Silently and swiftly they pulled alongside, and in a few minutes had rescued Mr Cupples and the steward and one of the sailors, all of whom were so much exhausted that they could not speak for some time after being taken on board. When they could tell what had happened, their tale was brief and sad. They had kept in sight of the long-boat while light enabled them to do so. After that they had run before the gale, until a heavy sea capsized them, from which time they could remember nothing, except that they had managed to get on the bottom of the upturned boat, to which they had clung for many hours in a state of partial insensibility.

CHAPTER SIX.

DESCRIBES A BOAT VOYAGE, AND TOUCHES ON CORAL ISLANDS.

The gale moderated to a fresh breeze, and all that day the long-boat of the ill-fated _Foam_ flew over the sea towards the west.

”You see,” said Captain Dall, in answer to a question put to him by Will Osten, ”I don't know exactly whereabouts we are, because there was a longish spell of dirty weather afore the _Foam_ went down, and I hadn't got a sight o' the sun for more than a week; but it's my belief that we are nearer to some of the coral islands than to the coast of South America, though how near I cannot tell. Five hundred miles, more or less, perhaps.”

”A mere trifle, sure!” said Larry, filling his pipe carefully--for his was the only pipe that had been rescued from the sinking s.h.i.+p, and the supply of tobacco was very small. Small as it was, however, the captain had taken the precaution to collect it all together, causing every man to empty his pockets of every inch that he possessed, and doled it out in small equal quant.i.ties. The pipe, however, could not be treated thus, so it had to be pa.s.sed round--each man possessing it in turn for a stated number of minutes, when, if he had not consumed his portion, he was obliged to empty the pipe and give it up.

”It's my turn, Larry,” cried Muggins, holding out his hand for the coveted implement of fumigation.

”No, ye spalpeen, it's not,” said Larry, continuing to press down the precious weed, ”owld Bob had it last, an' ivery wan knows that I come after him.”

”It's the first time I ever heard ye admit that you comed after anybody,” answered Muggins with a grin; ”ye ginerally go before us all-- at least ye want to.”

”Not at all,” retorted the cook; ”whin there's dirty work to be done, I most usually kape modestly in the background, an' lets you go first, bekase it's your nat'ral callin'. Arrah! the sun's goin' to set, boys,”

he added with a sigh, as he commenced to smoke.

This was true, and the knowledge that another long night of darkness was about to set in depressed the spirits which had begun to revive a little. Silence gradually ensued as they sat watching the waves or gazing wistfully towards the gorgeous ma.s.s of clouds in which the sun was setting. For a considerable time they sat thus, when suddenly Will Osten started up, and, pointing towards the horizon a little to the left of the sun, exclaimed--

”Look there, captain; what's that?”

”Land ho!” shouted Larry O'Hale at that moment, springing up on the thwart and holding on to the foremast.

All the rest leaped up in great excitement.

”It's only a cloud,” said one.

”It's a fog-bank,” cried another.

”I never seed a fog-bank with an edge like that,” observed old Bob, ”an'

I've sailed the salt sea long enough to know.”

”Land it is, thank G.o.d,” said the captain earnestly, shutting up his telescope. ”Get out the oars again, lads! We can't make it before dark, but the sooner we get there the better, for landing on these coral islands isn't always an easy job.”

The oars were got out at once, and the men pulled with a will, but it was late at night before they drew near to the land and heard the roar of the surf on the coral reef that stood as a sentinel to guard the island.