1 files changed, 6457 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/1698.txt b/1698.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94835d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1698.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6457 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Survivors of the Chancellor, by Jules Verne
+
+
+*******************************************************************
+THERE IS AN IMPROVED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WITH A LINKED TABLE OF
+CONTENTS WHICH MAY BE VIEWED AS EBOOK (#1652)
+at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1652
+*******************************************************************
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Survivors of the Chancellor
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Posting Date: September 11, 2012 [EBook #1698]
+Release Date: April, 1999
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURVIVORS OF THE CHANCELLOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Judy Boss
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+WORKS of JULES VERNE
+
+EDITED BY
+
+CHARLES F. HORNE
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+THE SURVIVORS OF THE CHANCELLOR was issued in 1875. Shipwrecks occur in
+other of Verne's tales; but this is his only story devoted wholly to
+such a disaster. In it the author has gathered all the tragedy, the
+mystery, and the suffering possible to the sea. All the various forms
+of disaster, all the possibilities of horror, the depths of shame and
+agony, are heaped upon these unhappy voyagers. The accumulation is
+mathematically complete and emotionally unforgettable. The tale has
+well been called the "imperishable epic of shipwreck."
+
+The idea of the book is said to have originated in the celebrated
+French painting by Gericault, "the Wreck of the Medusa," now in the
+Louvre gallery. The Medusa was a French frigate wrecked off the coast
+of Africa in 1816. Some of the survivors, escaping on a raft, were
+rescued by a passing ship after many days of torture. Verne, however,
+seems also to have drawn upon the terrifying experiences of the British
+ship Sarah Sands in 1857, her story being fresh in the public mind at
+the time he wrote. The Sarah Sands caught fire off the African coast
+while on a voyage to India carrying British troops. There was gunpowder
+aboard liable to blow up at any moment. Some of it did indeed explode,
+tearing a huge hole in the vessel's side. A storm added to the terror,
+and the waters entering the breach caused by the explosion, combated
+with the fire. After ten days of desperate struggle, the charred and
+sinking vessel reached a port.
+
+The extreme length of life which Verne allows his people in their
+starving, thirsting condition is proven possible by medical science and
+recent "fasting"' experiments. The dramatic climax of the tale wherein
+the castaways find fresh water in the ocean is based upon a fact, one
+of those odd geographical facts of which the author made such frequent,
+skillful and instructive use.
+
+"Michael Strogoff" which, through its use as a stage play, has become
+one of the best known books of all the world, was first published in
+1876. Its vivid, powerful story has made it a favorite with every
+red-blooded reader. Its two well-drawn female characters, the
+courageous heroine, and the stern, endurant, yearning mother, show how
+well Verne could depict the tenderer sex when he so willed. Though
+usually the rapid movement and adventure of his stories leave women in
+subordinate parts.
+
+As to the picture drawn in "Michael Strogoff" of Russia and Siberia, it
+is at once instructive and sympathetic. The horrors are not blinked at,
+yet neither is Russian patriotism ignored. The loyalty of some of the
+Siberian exiles to their mother country is a side of life there which
+is too often ignored by writers who dwell only on the darker view.
+
+The Czar, in our author's hands, becomes the hero figure to the
+erection of which French "hero worship" is ever prone. The sarcasms
+thrown occasionally at the British newspaper correspondent of the
+story, show the changing attitude of Verne toward England, and reflect
+the French spirit of his day.
+
+
+
+
+The Survivors of the Chancellor
+
+by Jules Verne
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE CHANCELLOR
+
+
+CHARLESTON, September 27, 1898.--It is high tide, and three o'clock in
+the afternoon when we leave the Battery quay; the ebb carries us off
+shore, and as Captain Huntly has hoisted both main and top sails, the
+northerly breeze drives the Chancellor briskly across the bay. Fort
+Sumter ere long is doubled, the sweeping batteries of the mainland on
+our left are soon passed, and by four o'clock the rapid current of the
+ebbing tide has carried us through the harbor mouth.
+
+But as yet we have not reached the open sea we have still to thread our
+way through the narrow channels which the surge has hollowed out
+amongst the sand-banks.  The captain takes a southwest course, rounding
+the lighthouse at the corner of the fort; the sails are closely
+trimmed; the last sandy point is safely coasted, and at length, at
+seven o'clock in the evening, we are out free upon the wide Atlantic.
+
+The Chancellor is a fine square-rigged three-master, of 900 tons
+burden, and belongs to the wealthy Liverpool firm of Laird Brothers.
+She is two years old, is sheathed and secured with copper, her decks
+being of teak, and the base of all her masts, except the mizzen, with
+all their fittings, being of iron. She is registered first class, A1,
+and is now on her third voyage between Charleston and Liverpool. As she
+wended her way through the channels of Charleston harbor, it was the
+British flag that was lowered from her mast-head; but without colors at
+all, no sailor could have hesitated for a moment in telling her
+nationality,--for English she was, and nothing but English from her
+water-line upward to the truck of her masts.
+
+I must now relate how it happens that I have taken my passage on board
+the Chancellor on her return voyage to England.
+
+At present there is no direct steamship service between South Carolina
+and Great Britain, and all who wish to cross must go either northward
+to New York or southward to New Orleans. It is quite true that if I had
+chosen a start from New York I might have found plenty of vessels
+belonging to English, French, or Hamburg lines, any of which would have
+conveyed me by a rapid voyage to my destination; and it is equally true
+that if I had selected New Orleans for my embarkation I could readily
+have reached Europe by one of the vessels of the National Steam
+Navigation Company, which join the French transatlantic line of Colon
+and Aspinwall. But it was fated to be otherwise.
+
+One day, as I was loitering about the Charleston quays, my eye lighted
+on this vessel. There was something about the Chancellor that pleased
+me, and a kind of involuntary impulse took me on board, where I found
+the internal arrangements perfectly comfortable. Yielding to the idea
+that a voyage in a sailing vessel had certain charms beyond the transit
+in a steamer, and reckoning that with wind and wave in my favor there
+would be little material difference in time; considering, moreover,
+that in these low latitudes the weather in early autumn is fine and
+unbroken, I came to my decision, and proceeded forthwith to secure my
+passage by this route to Europe.
+
+Have I done right or wrong? Whether I shall have reason to regret my
+determination is a problem to be solved in the future. However, I will
+begin to record the incidents of our daily experience, dubious as I
+feel whether the lines of my chronicle will ever find a reader.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+CREW AND PASSENGERS
+
+
+SEPTEMBER 28.--John Silas Huntly, the captain of the Chancellor, has
+the reputation of being a most experienced navigator of the Atlantic.
+He is a Scotchman by birth, a native of Dundee, and is about fifty
+years of age. He is of the middle height and slight build, and has a
+small head, which he has a habit of holding a little over his left
+shoulder. I do not pretend to be much of a physiognomist, but I am
+inclined to believe that my few hours' acquaintance with our captain
+has given me considerable insight into his character. That he is a good
+seaman and thoroughly understands his duties I could not for a moment
+venture to deny; but that he is a man of resolute temperament, or that
+he possesses the amount of courage that would render him, physically or
+morally, capable of coping with any great emergency, I confess I cannot
+believe. I observed a certain heaviness and dejection about his whole
+carriage. His wavering glances, the listless motion of his hands, and
+his slow, unsteady gait, all seem to me to indicate a weak and sluggish
+disposition. He does not appear as though he could be energetic enough
+ever to be stubborn; he never frowns, sets his teeth, or clenches his
+fists. There is something enigmatical about him; however, I shall study
+him closely, and do what I can to understand the man who, as commander
+of a vessel, should be to those around him "second only to God."
+
+Unless I am greatly mistaken there is another man on board who, if
+circumstances should require it, would take the more prominent
+position--I mean the mate. I have hitherto, however, had so little
+opportunity of observing his character, that I must defer saying more
+about him at present.
+
+Besides the captain and this mate, whose name is Robert Curtis, our
+crew consists of Walter, the lieutenant, the boatswain, and fourteen
+sailors, all English or Scotch, making eighteen altogether, a number
+quite sufficient for working a vessel of 900 tons burden. Up to this
+time my sole experience of their capabilities is, that under the
+command of the mate, they brought us skillfully enough through the
+narrow channels of Charleston; and I have no reason to doubt that they
+are well up to their work.
+
+My list of the ship's officials is incomplete unless I mention Hobart
+the steward and Jynxstrop the negro cook.
+
+In addition to these, the Chancellor carries eight passengers,
+including myself. Hitherto, the bustle of embarkation, the arrangement
+of cabins, and all the variety of preparations inseparable from
+starting on a voyage for at least twenty or five-and-twenty days have
+precluded the formation of any acquaintanceships; but the monotony of
+the voyage, the close proximity into which we must be thrown, and the
+natural curiosity to know something of each other's affairs, will
+doubtless lead us in due time to an exchange of ideas. Two days have
+elapsed and I have not even seen all the passengers. Probably
+sea-sickness has prevented some of them from making an appearance at
+the common table. One thing, however, I do know; namely, that there are
+two ladies occupying the stern cabin, the windows of which are in the
+aft-board of the vessel.
+
+I have seen the ship's list, and subjoin a list of the passengers. They
+are as follows:
+
+     Mr. and Mrs. Kear, Americans, of Buffalo.
+     Miss Herbey, a young English lady, companion to Mrs. Kear.
+     M. Letourneur and his son Andre, Frenchmen, of Havre.
+     William Falsten, a Manchester engineer.
+     John Ruby, a Cardiff merchant; and myself, J. R. Kazallon, of London.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+BILL OF LADING
+
+
+SEPTEMBER 29.--Captain Huntly's bill of lading, that is to say, the
+document that describes the Chancellor's cargo and the conditions of
+transport, is couched in the following terms:
+
+Bronsfield and Co., Agents, Charleston:
+
+     I, John Silas Huntly, of Dundee, Scotland, commander
+of the ship Chancellor, of about 900 tons burden, now at Charleston, do
+purpose, by the blessing of God, at the earliest convenient season, and
+by the direct route, to sail for the port of Liverpool, where I shall
+obtain my discharge. I do hereby acknowledge that I have received from
+you, Messrs. Bronsfield and Co., Commission Agents, Charleston, and
+have placed the same under the gun-deck of the aforesaid ship,
+seventeen hundred bales of cotton, of the estimated value of 26,000 L.,
+all in good condition, marked and numbered as in the margin; which
+goods I do undertake to transport to Liverpool, and there to deliver,
+free from injury (save only such injury as shall have been caused by
+the chances of the sea), to Messrs. Laird Brothers, or to their order,
+or to their representatives, who shall on due delivery of the said
+freight pay me the sum of 2,000 L. inclusive, according to the
+charter-party, and damages in addition, according to the usages and
+customs of the sea.
+
+And for the fulfillment of the above covenant, I have pledged and do
+pledge my person, my property, and my interest in the vessel aforesaid,
+with all its appurtenances. In witness whereof, I have signed three
+agreements all of the same purport, on the condition that when the
+terms of one are accomplished, the other two shall be absolutely null
+and void.
+
+     Given at Charleston, September 13th, 1869.
+
+                         J. S. HUNTLY.
+
+From the foregoing document it will be understood that the Chancellor
+is conveying 1,700 bales of cotton to Liverpool; that the shippers are
+Bronsfield, of Charleston, and the consignees are Laird Brothers of
+Liverpool. The ship was constructed with the especial design of
+carrying cotton, and the entire hold, with the exception of a very
+limited space reserved for passenger's luggage, is closely packed with
+the bales. The lading was performed with the utmost care, each bale
+being pressed into its proper place by the aid of screw-jacks, so that
+the whole freight forms one solid and compact mass; not an inch of
+space is wasted, and the vessel is thus made capable of carrying her
+full complement of cargo.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+SOMETHING ABOUT MY FELLOW PASSENGERS
+
+
+SEPTEMBER 30 to October 6.--The Chancellor is a rapid sailer, and more
+than a match for many a vessel of the same dimensions. She scuds along
+merrily in the freshening breeze, leaving in her wake, far as the eye
+can reach, a long white line of foam as well defined as a delicate
+strip of lace stretched upon an azure ground.
+
+The Atlantic is not visited by many gales, and I have every reason to
+believe that the rolling and pitching of the vessel no longer incommode
+any of the passengers, who are all more or less accustomed to the sea.
+A vacant seat at our table is now very rare; we are beginning to know
+something about each other, and our daily life, in consequence, is
+becoming somewhat less monotonous.
+
+M. Letourneur, our French fellow-passenger, often has a chat with me.
+He is a fine tall man, about fifty years of age, with white hair and a
+grizzly beard. To say the truth, he looks older than he really is: his
+drooping head, his dejected manner, and his eye, ever and again
+suffused with tears, indicate that he is haunted by some deep and
+abiding sorrow. He never laughs; he rarely even smiles, and then only
+on his son; his countenance ordinarily bearing a look of bitterness
+tempered by affection, while his general expression is one of caressing
+tenderness. It excites an involuntary commiseration to learn that M.
+Letourneur is consuming himself by exaggerated reproaches on account of
+the infirmity of an afflicted son.
+
+Andre Letourneur is about twenty years of age, with a gentle,
+interesting countenance, but, to the irrepressible grief of his father,
+is a hopeless cripple. His left leg is miserably deformed, and he is
+quite unable to walk without the assistance of a stick. It is obvious
+that the father's life is bound up with that of his son; his devotion
+is unceasing; every thought, every glance is for Andre; he seems to
+anticipate his most trifling wish, watches his slightest movement, and
+his arm is ever ready to support or otherwise assist the child whose
+sufferings he more than shares.
+
+M. Letourneur seems to have taken a peculiar fancy to myself, and
+constantly talks about Andre. This morning, in the course of
+conversation, I said:
+
+"You have a good son, M. Letourneur.   I have just been talking to him.
+He is a most intelligent young man."
+
+"Yes, Mr. Kazallon," replied M. Letourneur, brightening up into a
+smile, "his afflicted frame contains a noble mind. He is like his
+mother, who died at his birth."
+
+"He is full of reverence and love for you, sir," I remarked.
+
+"Dear boy!" muttered the father half to himself. "Ah, Mr. Kazallon," he
+continued, "you do not know what it is to a father to have a son a
+cripple, beyond hope of cure."
+
+"M. Letourneur," I answered, "you take more than your share of the
+affliction which has fallen upon you and your son. That M. Andre is
+entitled to the very greatest commiseration no one can deny; but you
+should remember, that after all a physical infirmity is not so hard to
+bear as mental grief. Now, I have watched your son pretty closely, and
+unless I am much mistaken there is nothing that troubles him so much as
+the sight of your own sorrow."
+
+"But I never let him see it," he broke in hastily. "My sole thought is
+how to divert him. I have discovered that, in spite of his physical
+weakness, he delights in traveling; so for the last few years we have
+been constantly on the move. We first went all over Europe, and are now
+returning from visiting the principal places in the United States. I
+never allowed my son to go to college, but instructed him entirely
+myself, and these travels, I hope, will serve to complete his
+education. He is very intelligent, and has a lively imagination, and I
+am sometimes tempted to hope that in contemplating the wonders of
+nature he forgets his own infirmity."
+
+"Yes, sir, of course he does," I assented.
+
+"But," continued M. Letourneur, taking my hand, "although, perhaps, HE
+may forget, I can never forget. Ah, sir, do you suppose that Andre can
+ever forgive his parents for bringing him into the world a cripple?"
+
+The remorse of the unhappy father was very distressing, and I was about
+to say a few kind words of sympathy when Andre himself made his
+appearance. M. Letourneur hastened toward him and assisted him up the
+few steep steps that led to the poop.
+
+As soon as Andre was comfortably seated on one of the benches, and his
+father had taken his place by his side, I joined them, and we fell into
+conversation upon ordinary topics, discussing the various points of the
+Chancellor, the probable length of the passage, and the different
+details of our life on board. I find that M. Letourneur's estimate of
+Captain Huntly's character very much coincides with my own, and that,
+like me, he is impressed with the man's undecided manner and sluggish
+appearance. Like me, too, he has formed a very favorable opinion of
+Robert Curtis, the mate, a man of about thirty years of age, of great
+muscular power, with a frame and a will that seem ever ready for action.
+
+While we were still talking of him, Curtis himself came on deck, and as
+I watched his movements I could not help being struck with his physical
+development; his erect and easy carriage, his fearless glance and
+slightly contracted brow all betoken a man of energy, thoroughly
+endowed with the calmness and courage that are indispensable to the
+true sailor. He seems a kind-hearted fellow, too, and is always ready
+to assist and amuse young Letourneur, who evidently enjoys his company.
+After he had scanned the weather and examined the trim of the sails, he
+joined our party and proceeded to give us some information about those
+of our fellow-passengers with whom at present we have made but slight
+acquaintance.
+
+Mr. Kear, the American, who is accompanied by his wife, has made a
+large fortune in the petroleum springs in the United States. He is a
+man of about fifty, a most uninteresting companion, being overwhelmed
+with a sense of his own wealth and importance, and consequently
+supremely indifferent to all around him. His hands are always in his
+pockets, and the chink of money seems to follow him wherever he goes.
+Vain and conceited, a fool as well as an egotist, he struts about like
+a peacock showing its plumage, and to borrow the words of the
+physiognomist Gratiolet, "il se flaire, il se savoure, il se goute."
+Why he should have taken his passage on board a mere merchant vessel
+instead of enjoying the luxuries of a transatlantic steamer, I am
+altogether at a loss to explain.
+
+The wife is an insignificant, insipid woman, of about forty years of
+age. She never reads, never talks, and I believe I am not wrong in
+saying, never thinks. She seems to look without seeing, and listen
+without hearing, and her sole occupation consists in giving her orders
+to her companion, Miss Herbey, a young English girl of about twenty.
+
+Miss Herbey is extremely pretty. Her complexion is fair and her eyes
+deep blue, while her pleasing countenance is altogether free from that
+insignificance of feature which is not unfrequently alleged to be
+characteristic of English beauty. Her mouth would be charming if she
+ever smiled, but, exposed as she is to the ridiculous whims and fancies
+of a capricious mistress, her lips rarely relax from their ordinary
+grave expression. Yet, humiliating as her position must be, she never
+utters a word of open complaint, but quietly and gracefully performs
+her duties, accepting without a murmur the paltry salary which the
+bumptious petroleum-merchant condescends to allow her.
+
+The Manchester engineer, William Falsten, looks like a thorough
+Englishman. He has the management of some extensive hydraulic works in
+South Carolina, and is now on his way to Europe to obtain some improved
+apparatus, and more especially to visit the mines worked by centrifugal
+force, belonging to the firm of Messrs. Cail. He is forty-five years of
+age, with all his interests so entirely absorbed by his machinery that
+he seems to have neither a thought nor a care beyond his mechanical
+calculations. Once let him engage you in conversation, and there is no
+chance of escape; you have no help for it but to listen as patiently as
+you can until he has completed the explanation of his designs.
+
+The last of our fellow-passengers, Mr. Ruby, is the type of a vulgar
+tradesman. Without any originality or magnanimity in his composition,
+he has spent twenty years of his life in mere buying and selling, and
+as he has generally contrived to do business at a profit, he has
+realized a considerable fortune. What he is going to do with the money,
+he does not seem able to say: his ideas do not go beyond retail trade,
+his mind having been so long closed to all other impressions that it
+appears incapable of thought or reflection on any subject besides.
+Pascal says, "L'homme est visiblement fait pour penser. C'est toute sa
+dignite et tout son merite;" but to Mr. Ruby the phrase seems
+altogether inapplicable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+AN UNUSUAL ROUTE
+
+
+OCTOBER 7.--This is the tenth day since we left Charleston, and I
+should think our progress has been very rapid. Robert Curtis, the mate,
+with whom I continue to have many a friendly chat, informed me that we
+could not be far off the Bermudas; the ship's bearings, he said, were
+lat. 32 deg. 20' N. and long. 64 deg. 50' W. so that he had every
+reason to believe that we should sight St. George's Island before night.
+
+"The Bermudas!" I exclaimed. "But how is it we are off the Bermudas? I
+should have thought that a vessel sailing from Charleston to Liverpool,
+would have kept northward, and have followed the track of the Gulf
+Stream."
+
+"Yes, indeed, sir," replied Curtis, "that is the usual course; but you
+see that this time the captain hasn't chosen to take it."
+
+"But why not?" I persisted.
+
+"That's not for me to say, sir; he ordered us eastward, and eastward we
+go."
+
+"Haven't you called his attention to it?" I inquired.
+
+Curtis acknowledged that he had already pointed out what an unusual
+route they were taking, but that the captain had said that he was quite
+aware what he was about. The mate made no further remark; but the knit
+of his brow, as he passed his hand mechanically across his forehead,
+made me fancy that he was inclined to speak out more strongly.
+
+"All very well, Curtis," I said, "but I don't know what to think about
+trying new routes. Here we are at the 7th of October, and if we are to
+reach Europe before the bad weather sets in, I should suppose there is
+not a day to be lost."
+
+"Right, sir, quite right; there is not a day to be lost."
+
+Struck by his manner, I ventured to add, "Do you mind, Curtis, giving
+me your honest opinion of Captain Huntly?"
+
+He hesitated a moment, and then replied shortly, "He is my captain,
+sir."
+
+This evasive answer of course put an end to any further interrogation
+on my part.
+
+Curtis was not mistaken. At about three o'clock the look-out man sung
+out that there was land to windward, and descried what seemed as if it
+might be a line of smoke in the northeast horizon. At six, I went on
+deck with M. Letourneur and his son, and we could then distinctly make
+out the low group of the Bermudas, encircled by their formidable chain
+of breakers.
+
+"There," said Andre Letourneur to me, as we stood gazing at the distant
+land, "there lies the enchanted archipelago, sung by your poet Moore.
+The exile Waller, too, as long ago as 1643, wrote an enthusiastic
+panegyric on the islands, and I have been told that at one time English
+ladies would wear no other bonnets than such as were made of the leaves
+of the Bermuda palm."
+
+"Yes," I replied, "the Bermudas were all the rage in the seventeenth
+century, although latterly they have fallen into comparative oblivion."
+
+"But let me tell you, M. Andre," interposed Curtis, who had as usual
+joined our party, "that although poets may rave, and be as enthusiastic
+as they like about these islands, sailors will tell a different tale.
+The hidden reefs that lie in a semicircle about two or three leagues
+from shore make the attempt to land a very dangerous piece of business.
+And another thing, I know. Let the natives boast as they will about
+their splendid climate, they are visited by the most frightful
+hurricanes. They get the fag-end of the storms that rage over the
+Antilles; and the fag-end of a storm is like the tail of a whale; it's
+just the strongest bit of it. I don't think you'll find a sailor
+listening much to your poets--your Moores, and your Wallers."
+
+"No doubt you are right, Mr. Curtis," said Andre, smiling, "but poets
+are like proverbs; you can always find one to contradict another.
+Although Waller and Moore have chosen to sing the praises of the
+Bermudas, it has been supposed that Shakspeare was depicting them in
+the terrible scenes that are found in 'The Tempest.'"
+
+I may mention that there was not another of our fellow-passengers who
+took the trouble to come on deck and give a glance at this strange
+cluster of islands. Miss Herbey, it is true, was making an attempt to
+join us, but she had barely reached the poop, when Mrs. Kear's languid
+voice was heard recalling her for some trifling service to her side.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE SARGASSO SEA
+
+
+OCTOBER 8 to October 13.--The wind is blowing hard from the northeast,
+and the Chancellor, under low-reefed top-sail and fore-sail, and
+laboring against a heavy sea, has been obliged to be brought ahull. The
+joists and girders all creak again until one's teeth are set on edge. I
+am the only passenger not remaining below; but I prefer being on deck
+notwithstanding the driving rain, fine as dust, which penetrates to the
+very skin. We have been driven along in this fashion for the best part
+of two days; the "stiffish breeze" has gradually freshened into "a
+gale"; the topgallants have been lowered, and, as I write, the wind is
+blowing with a velocity of fifty or sixty miles an hour. Although the
+Chancellor has many good points, her drift is considerable, and we have
+been carried far to the south; we can only guess at our precise
+position, as the cloudy atmosphere entirely precludes us from taking
+the sun's altitude.
+
+All along, throughout this period, my fellow-passengers are totally
+ignorant of the extraordinary course that we are taking. England lies
+to the northeast, yet we are sailing directly southeast, and Robert
+Curtis owns that he is quite bewildered; he cannot comprehend why the
+captain, ever since this northeasterly gale has been blowing, should
+persist in allowing the ship to drive to the south, instead of tacking
+to the northwest until she gets into better quarters.
+
+I was alone with Robert Curtis to-day upon the poop, and could not help
+saying to him, "Curtis, is your captain mad?"
+
+"Perhaps, sir, I might be allowed to ask what YOU think upon that
+matter," was his cautious reply.
+
+"Well, to say the truth," I answered. "I can hardly tell; but I confess
+there is every now and then a wandering in his eye, and an odd look on
+his face that I do not like. Have you ever sailed with him before?"
+
+"No; this is our first voyage together. Again last night I spoke to him
+about the route we were taking, but he only said he knew all about it,
+and that it was all right."
+
+"What do Lieutenant Walter and your boatswain think of it all?" I
+inquired.
+
+"Think; why, they think just the same as I do," replied the mate; "but
+if the captain chooses to take the ship to China we should obey his
+orders."
+
+"But surely," I exclaimed, "there must be some limit to your obedience!
+Suppose the man is actually mad, what then?"
+
+"If he should be mad enough, Mr. Kazallon, to bring the vessel into any
+real danger, I shall know what to do."
+
+With this assurance I am forced to be content. Matters, however, have
+taken a different turn to what I bargained for when I took my passage
+on board the Chancellor. The weather has become worse and worse. As I
+have already said, the ship under her large low-reefed top-sail and
+fore stay-sail has been brought ahull, that is to say, she copes
+directly with the wind, by presenting her broad bows to the sea; and so
+we go on still drift, drift, continually to the south.
+
+How southerly our course has been is very apparent; for upon the night
+of the 11th we fairly entered upon that portion of the Atlantic which
+is known as the Sargasso Sea. An extensive tract of water is this,
+inclosed by the warm current of the Gulf Stream, and thickly covered
+with the wrack, called by the Spaniards "sargasso," the abundance of
+which so seriously impeded the progress of Columbus's vessel on his
+first voyage.
+
+Each morning at daybreak the Atlantic has presented an aspect so
+remarkable, that at my solicitation, M. Letourneur and his son have
+ventured upon deck to witness the unusual spectacle. The squally gusts
+make the metal shrouds vibrate like harp-strings; and unless we were on
+our guard to keep our clothes wrapped tightly to us, they would have
+been torn off our backs in shreds. The scene presented to our eyes is
+one of strangest interest. The sea, carpeted thickly with masses of
+prolific fucus, is a vast unbroken plain of vegetation, through which
+the vessel makes her way as a plow. Long strips of seaweed caught up by
+the wind become entangled in the rigging, and hang between the masts in
+festoons of verdure; while others, varying from two to three hundred
+feet in length, twine themselves up to the very mast-head, from whence
+they float like streaming pennants. For many hours now, the Chancellor
+has been contending with this formidable accumulation of algae; her
+masts are circled with hydrophytes; her rigging is wreathed everywhere
+with creepers, fantastic as the untrammeled tendrils of a vine, and as
+she works her arduous course, there are times when I can only compare
+her to an animated grove of verdure making its mysterious way over some
+illimitable prairie.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+VOICES IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+OCTOBER 14.--At last we are free from the sea of vegetation, the
+boisterous gale has moderated into a steady breeze, the sun is shining
+brightly, the weather is warm and genial, and thus, two reefs in her
+top-sails, briskly and merrily sails the Chancellor.
+
+Under conditions so favorable, we have been able to take the ship's
+bearings: our latitude, we find, is 21 deg. 33' N., our longitude, 50
+deg. 17' W.
+
+Incomprehensible altogether is the conduct of Captain Huntly. Here we
+are, already more than ten degrees south of the point from which we
+started, and yet still we are persistently following a southeasterly
+course! I cannot bring myself to the conclusion that the man is mad. I
+have had various conversations with him: he has always spoken
+rationally and sensibly. He shows no tokens of insanity. Perhaps his
+case is one of those in which insanity is partial, and where the mania
+is of a character which extends only to the matters connected with his
+profession. Yet it is unaccountable.
+
+I can get nothing out of Curtis; he listens coldly whenever I allude to
+the subject, and only repeats what he has said before, that nothing
+short of an overt act of madness on the part of the captain could
+induce him to supersede the captain's authority, and that the imminent
+peril of the ship could alone justify him in taking so decided a
+measure.
+
+Last evening I went to my cabin about eight o'clock, and after an
+hour's reading by the light of my cabin-lamp, I retired to my berth and
+was soon asleep. Some hours later I was aroused by an unaccustomed
+noise on deck. There were heavy footsteps hurrying to and fro, and the
+voices of the men were loud and eager, as if the crew were agitated by
+some strange disturbance. My first impression was, that some tacking
+had been ordered which rendered it needful to fathom the yards; but the
+vessel continuing to lie to starboard convinced me that this was not
+the origin of the commotion. I was curious to know the truth, and made
+all haste I could to go on deck; but before I was ready, the noise had
+ceased. I heard Captain Huntly return to his cabin, and accordingly I
+retired again to my own berth. Whatever may have been the meaning of
+the maneuver, I cannot tell; it did not seem to result in any
+improvement in the ship's pace; still it must be owned there was not
+much wind to speed us along.
+
+At six o'clock this morning I mounted the poop and made as keen a
+scrutiny as I could of everything on board. Everything appeared as
+usual. The Chancellor was running on the larboard tack, and carried
+low-sails, top-sails, and gallant-sails. Well braced she was; and under
+a fresh, but not uneasy breeze, was making no less than eleven knots an
+hour.
+
+Shortly afterward M. Letourneur and Andre came on deck. The young man
+enjoyed the early morning air, laden with its briny fragrance, and I
+assisted him to mount the poop. In answer to my inquiry as to whether
+they had been disturbed by any bustle in the night, Andre replied that
+he did not wake at all, and had heard nothing.
+
+"I am glad, my boy," said the father, "that you have slept so soundly.
+I heard the noise of which Mr. Kazallon speaks. It must have been about
+three o'clock this morning, and it seemed to me as though they were
+shouting. I thought I heard them say; 'Here, quick, look to the
+hatches!' but as nobody was called up, I presumed that nothing serious
+was the matter."
+
+As he spoke I cast my eye at the panel-slides, which fore and aft of
+the main-mast open into the hold. They seemed to be all close as usual,
+but I now observed for the first time that they were covered with heavy
+tarpauling. Wondering in my own mind what could be the reason for these
+extra precautions I did not say anything to M. Letourneur, but
+determined to wait until the mate should come on watch, when he would
+doubtless give me, I thought, an explanation of the mystery.
+
+The sun rose gloriously, with every promise of a fine dry day. The
+waning moon was yet above the western horizon, for as it still wants
+three days to her last quarter she does not set until 10:57 A. M. On
+consulting my almanac, I find that there will be a new moon on the
+24th, and that on that day, little as it may affect us here in
+mid-ocean, the phenomenon of the high syzygian tides will take place on
+the shores of every continent and island.
+
+At the breakfast hour M. Letourneur and Andre went below for a cup of
+tea, and I remained on the poop alone. As I expected, Curtis appeared,
+that he might relieve Lieutenant Walter of the watch. I advanced to
+meet him, but before he even wished me good morning, I saw him cast a
+quick and searching glance upon the deck, and then, with a slightly
+contracted brow, proceed to examine the state of the weather and the
+trim of the sails.
+
+"Where is Captain Huntly?" he said to Walter.
+
+"I have seen nothing of him," answered the lieutenant; "is there
+anything fresh up?"
+
+"Nothing whatever," was the curt reply.
+
+They then conversed for a few moments in an undertone, and I could see
+that Walter by his gesture gave a negative answer to some question
+which the mate had asked him. "Send me the boatswain, Walter," said
+Curtis aloud as the lieutenant moved away.
+
+The boatswain immediately appeared, and another conversation was
+carried on in whispers. The man repeatedly shook his head as he replied
+to Curtis's inquiries, and then, in obedience to orders, called the men
+who were on watch, and made them plentifully water the tarpauling that
+covered the great hatchway.
+
+Curious to fathom the mystery I went up to Curtis and began to talk
+with him upon ordinary topics, hoping that he would himself introduce
+the subject that was uppermost in my mind; finding, however, that he
+did not allude to it, I asked him point blank:
+
+"What was the matter in the night, Curtis?"
+
+He looked at me steadily, but made no reply.
+
+"What was it?" I repeated. "M. Letourneur and myself were both of us
+disturbed by a very unusual commotion overhead."
+
+"Oh, a mere nothing," he said at length; "the man at the helm had made
+a false move, and we had to pipe hands to brace the ship a bit; but it
+was soon all put to rights. It was nothing, nothing at all."
+
+I said no more; but I can not resist the impression that Robert Curtis
+has not acted with me in his usual straight-forward manner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+FIRE ON BOARD
+
+
+OCTOBER 15 to October 18.--The wind is still in the northeast. There is
+no change in the Chancellor's course, and to an unprejudiced eye all
+would appear to be going on as usual. But I have an uneasy
+consciousness that something is not quite right. Why should the
+hatchways be so hermetically closed as though a mutinous crew was
+imprisoned between decks? I can not help thinking too that there is
+something in the sailors so constantly standing in groups and breaking
+off their talk so suddenly whenever we approach; and several times I
+have caught the word "hatches" which arrested M. Letourneur's attention
+on the night of the disturbance.
+
+On the 15th, while I was walking on the forecastle, I overheard one of
+the sailors, a man named Owen, say to his mates:
+
+"Now I just give you all warning that I am not going to wait until the
+last minute. Everyone for himself, say I."
+
+"Why, what do you mean to do?" asked Jynxstrop, the cook.
+
+"Pshaw!" said Owen, "do you suppose that longboats were only made for
+porpoises?"
+
+Something at that moment occurred to interrupt the conversation, and I
+heard no more. It occurred to me whether there was not some conspiracy
+among the crew, of which probably Curtis had already detected the
+symptoms. I am quite aware that some sailors are most rebelliously
+disposed, and required to be ruled with a rod of iron.
+
+Yesterday and to-day I have observed Curtis remonstrating somewhat
+vehemently with Captain Huntly, but there is no obvious result arising
+from their interviews; the captain apparently being bent upon some
+purpose, of which it is only too manifest that the mate decidedly
+disapproves.
+
+Captain Huntly is undoubtedly laboring under strong nervous excitement;
+and M. Letourneur has more than once remarked how silent he has become
+at meal-times; for although Curtis continually endeavors to start some
+subject of general interest, yet neither Mr. Falsten, Mr. Kear, nor Mr.
+Ruby are the men to take it up, and consequently the conversation flags
+hopelessly, and soon drops. The passengers too are now, with good
+cause, beginning to murmur at the length of the voyage, and Mr. Kear,
+who considers that the very elements ought to yield to his convenience,
+lets the captain know by his consequential and haughty manner that he
+holds him responsible for the delay.
+
+During the course of yesterday the mate gave repeated orders for the
+deck to be watered again and again, and although as a general rule this
+is a business which is done, once for all, in the early morning, the
+crew did not utter a word of complaint at the additional work thus
+imposed upon them. The tarpaulins on the hatches have thus been kept
+continually wet, so that their close and heavy texture is rendered
+quite impervious to the air. The Chancellor's pumps afford a copious
+supply of water, so that I should not suppose that even the daintiest
+and most luxurious craft belonging to an aristocratic yacht club was
+ever subject to a more thorough scouring. I tried to reconcile myself
+to the belief that it was the high temperature of the tropical regions
+upon which we are entering, that rendered such extra sousings a
+necessity, and recalled to my recollection how, during the night of the
+13th, I had found the atmosphere below deck so stifling, that in spite
+of the heavy swell I was obliged to open the porthole of my cabin, on
+the starboard side, to get a breath of air.
+
+This morning at daybreak I went on deck. The sun had scarcely risen,
+and the air was fresh and cool, in strange contrast to the heat which
+below the poop had been quite oppressive. The sailors as usual were
+washing the deck. A great sheet of water, supplied continuously by the
+pumps, was rolling in tiny wavelets, and escaping now to starboard, now
+to larboard through the scupper-holes. After watching the men for a
+while as they ran about bare-footed, I could not resist the desire to
+join them, so taking off my shoes and stockings, I proceeded to dabble
+in the flowing water.
+
+Great was my amazement to find the deck perfectly hot to my feet!
+Curtis heard my exclamation of surprise, and before I could put my
+thoughts into words, said:
+
+"Yes! there is fire on board!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CURTIS EXPLAINS THE SITUATION
+
+
+OCTOBER 19.--Everything, then, is clear. The uneasiness of the crew,
+their frequent conferences, Owen's mysterious words, the constant
+scourings of the deck and the oppressive heat of the cabins which had
+been noticed even by my fellow-passengers, all are explained.
+
+After his grave communication, Curtis remained silent. I shivered with
+a thrill of horror; a calamity the most terrible that can befall a
+voyager stared me in the face, and it was some seconds before I could
+recover sufficient composure to inquire when the fire was first
+discovered.
+
+"Six days ago," replied the mate.
+
+"Six days ago!" I exclaimed; "why, then, it was that night."
+
+"Yes," he said, interrupting me; "it was the night you heard the
+disturbance upon deck. The men on watch noticed a slight smoke issuing
+from the large hatchway and immediately called Captain Huntly and
+myself. We found beyond all doubt, that the cargo was on fire, and what
+was worse, that there was no possibility of getting at the seat of the
+combustion. What could we do? Why, we took the only precaution that was
+practicable under the circumstances, and resolved most carefully to
+exclude every breath of air from penetrating into the hold. For some
+time I hoped that we had been successful. I thought that the fire was
+stifled; but during the last three days there is every reason to make
+us know that it has been gaining strength. Do what we will, the deck
+gets hotter and hotter, and unless it were kept constantly wet, it
+would be unbearable to the feet. But I am glad, Mr. Kazallon," he
+added; "that you have made the discovery. It is better that you should
+know it." I listened in silence. I was now fully aroused to the gravity
+of the situation and thoroughly comprehended how we were in the very
+face of a calamity which it seemed that no human power could avert.
+
+"Do you know what has caused the fire?" I presently inquired.
+
+"It probably arose," he answered, "from the spontaneous combustion of
+the cotton. The case is rare, but it is far from unknown. Unless the
+cotton is perfectly dry when it is shipped, its confinement in a damp
+or ill-ventilated hold will sometimes cause it to ignite; and I have no
+doubt it is this that has brought about our misfortune."
+
+"But after all," I said, "the cause matters very little. Is there no
+remedy? Is there nothing to be done?"
+
+"Nothing, Mr. Kazallon," he said. "As I told you before, we have
+adopted the only possible measure within our power to check the fire.
+At one time I thought of knocking a hole in the ship's timbers just on
+her water-line, and letting in just as much water as the pumps could
+afterward get rid of again; but we found the combustion was right in
+the middle of the cargo and that we should be obliged to flood the
+entire hold before we could get at the right place. That scheme
+consequently was no good. During the night, I had the deck bored in
+various places and water poured down through the holes; but that again
+seemed of no use. There is only one thing that can be done; we must
+persevere in excluding most carefully every breath of outer air, so
+that perhaps the conflagration, deprived of oxygen, may smoulder itself
+out. That is our only hope."
+
+"But, you say the fire is increasing?"
+
+"Yes; and that shows that in spite of all our care there is some
+aperture which we have not been able to discover, by which, somehow or
+other, air gets into the hold."
+
+"Have you ever heard of a vessel surviving such circumstances?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, Mr. Kazallon," said Curtis; "it is not at all an unusual thing
+for ships laden with cotton to arrive at Liverpool or Havre with a
+portion of their cargo consumed; and I have myself known more than one
+captain run into port with his deck scorching his very feet, and who,
+to save his vessel and the remainder of his freight has been compelled
+to unload with the utmost expedition. But, in such cases, of course the
+fire has been more or less under control throughout the voyage; with
+us, it is increasing day by day, and I tell you I am convinced there is
+an aperture somewhere which has escaped our notice."
+
+"But would it not be advisable for us to retrace our course, and make
+for the nearest land?"
+
+"Perhaps it would," he answered. "Walter and I, and the boatswain, are
+going to talk the matter over seriously with the captain to-day. But,
+between ourselves, I have taken the responsibility upon myself; I have
+already changed the tack to the southwest; we are now straight before
+the wind, and consequently we are sailing toward the coast."
+
+"I need hardly ask," I added; "whether any of the other passengers are
+at all aware of the imminent danger in which we are placed."
+
+"None of them," he said; "not in the least; and I hope you will not
+enlighten them.  We don't want terrified women and cowardly men to add
+to our embarrassment; the crew are under orders to keep a strict
+silence on the subject. Silence is indispensable."
+
+I promised to keep the matter a profound secret, as I fully entered
+into Curtis's views as to the absolute necessity for concealment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+PICRATE OF POTASH ON BOARD
+
+
+OCTOBER 20 and 21.--The Chancellor is now crowded with all the canvas
+she can carry, and at times her topmasts threaten to snap with the
+pressure. But Curtis is ever on the alert; he never leaves his post
+beside the man at the helm, and without compromising the safety of the
+vessel, he contrives, by tacking to the breeze, to urge her on at her
+utmost speed.
+
+All day long on the 20th the passengers were assembled on the poop.
+Evidently they found the heat of the cabins painfully oppressive, and
+most of them lay stretched upon benches and quietly enjoyed the gentle
+rolling of the vessel. The increasing heat of the deck did not reveal
+itself to their well-shod feet, and the constant scouring of the boards
+did not excite any suspicion in their torpid minds. M. Letourneur, it
+is true, did express his surprise that the crew of an ordinary merchant
+vessel should be distinguished by such extraordinary cleanliness; but
+as I replied to him in a very casual tone, he passed no further remark.
+I could not help regretting that I had given Curtis my pledge of
+silence, and longed intensely to communicate the melancholy secret to
+the energetic Frenchman; for at times when I reflect upon the
+eight-and-twenty victims who may probably, only too soon, be a prey to
+the relentless flames, my heart seems ready to burst.
+
+The important consultation between captain, mate, lieutenant and
+boatswain has taken place. Curtis has confided the result to me. He
+says that Huntly, the captain, is completely demoralized; he has lost
+all power and energy; and practically leaves the command of the ship to
+him. It is now certain the fire is beyond control, and that sooner or
+later it will burst out in full violence. The temperature of the crew's
+quarters has already become almost unbearable. One solitary hope
+remains; it is that we may reach the shore before the final catastrophe
+occurs. The Lesser Antilles are the nearest land; and although they are
+some five or six hundred miles away, if the wind remains northeast
+there is yet a chance of reaching them in time.
+
+Carrying royals and studding-sails, the Chancellor during the last
+four-and-twenty hours has held a steady course. M. Letourneur is the
+only one of all the passengers who has remarked the change of tack;
+Curtis, however, has set all speculation on his part at rest by telling
+him that he wanted to get ahead of the wind, and that he was tacking to
+the west to catch a favorable current.
+
+To-day, the 21st, all has gone on as usual; and as far as the
+observation of the passengers has reached, the ordinary routine has
+been undisturbed. Curtis indulges the hope even yet that by excluding
+the air the fire may be stifled before it ignites the general cargo; he
+has hermetically closed every accessible aperture, and has even taken
+the precaution of plugging the orifices of the pumps, under the
+impression that their suction-tubes, running as they do to the bottom
+of the hold, may possibly be channels for conveying some molecules of
+air. Altogether, he considers it a good sign that the combustion has
+not betrayed itself by some external issue of smoke.
+
+The day would have passed without any incident worth recording, if I
+had not chanced to overhear a fragment of a conversation which
+demonstrated that our situation, hitherto precarious enough, had now
+become most appalling.
+
+As I was sitting on the poop, two of my fellow-passengers, Falsten, the
+engineer, and Ruby, the merchant, whom I had observed to be often in
+company, were engaged in conversation almost close to me. What they
+said was evidently not intended for my hearing, but my attention was
+directed toward them by some very emphatic gestures of dissatisfaction
+on the part of Falsten, and I could not forbear listening to what
+followed.
+
+"Preposterous! shameful!" exclaimed Falsten; "nothing could be more
+imprudent."
+
+"Pooh! pooh!" replied Ruby, "it's all right; it is not the first time I
+have done it."
+
+"But don't you know that any shock at any time might cause an
+explosion?"
+
+"Oh, it's all properly secured," said Ruby, "tight enough; I have no
+fears on that score, Mr. Falsten."
+
+"But why," asked Falsten, "did you not inform the captain?"
+
+"Just because if I had informed him, he would not have taken the case
+on board."
+
+The wind dropped for a few seconds; and for a brief interval I could
+not catch what passed; but I could see that Falsten continued to
+remonstrate, while Ruby answered by shrugging his shoulders. At length
+I heard Falsten say.
+
+"Well, at any rate, the captain must be informed of this, and the
+package shall be thrown overboard. I don't want to be blown up."
+
+I started. To what could the engineer be alluding? Evidently he had not
+the remotest suspicion that the cargo was already on fire. In another
+moment the words "picrate of potash" brought me to my feet, and with an
+involuntary impulse I rushed up to Ruby, and seized him by the shoulder.
+
+"Is there picrate of potash on board?" I almost shrieked.
+
+"Yes," said Falsten, "a case containing thirty pounds."
+
+"Where is it?" I cried.
+
+"Down in the hold, with the cargo."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE PASSENGERS DISCOVER THEIR DANGER
+
+
+WHAT my feelings were I cannot describe; but it was hardly in terror so
+much as with a kind of resignation that I made my way to Curtis on the
+forecastle, and made him aware that the alarming character of our
+situation was now complete, as there was enough explosive matter on
+board to blow up a mountain. Curtis received the information as coolly
+as it was delivered, and after I had made him acquainted with all the
+particulars said, "Not a word of this must be mentioned to anyone else,
+Mr. Kazallon. Where is Ruby, now?"
+
+"On the poop," I said.
+
+"Will you then come with me, sir?"
+
+Ruby and Falsten were sitting just as I had left them. Curtis walked
+straight up to Ruby, and asked him whether what he had been told was
+true.
+
+"Yes, quite true," said Ruby, complacently, thinking that the worst
+that could befall him would be that he might be convicted of a little
+smuggling.
+
+I observed that Curtis was obliged for a moment or two to clasp his
+hands tightly together behind his back to prevent himself from seizing
+the unfortunate passenger by the throat; but suppressing his
+indignation, he proceeded quietly, though sternly, to interrogate him
+about the facts of the case. Ruby only confirmed what I had already
+told him. With characteristic Anglo-Saxon incautiousness he had brought
+on board, with the rest of his baggage, a case containing no less than
+thirty pounds of picrate, and had allowed the explosive matter to be
+stowed in the hold with as little compunction as a Frenchman would feel
+in smuggling a single bottle of wine. He had not informed the captain
+of the dangerous nature of the contents of the package, because he was
+perfectly aware that he would have been refused permission to bring the
+package on board.
+
+"Anyway," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders, "you can't hang me
+for it; and if the package gives you so much concern, you are quite at
+liberty to throw it into the sea. My luggage is insured."
+
+I was beside myself with fury; and not being endowed with Curtis's
+reticence and self-control, before he could interfere to stop me, I
+cried out:
+
+"You fool! don't you know that there is fire on board?"
+
+In an instant I regretted my words. Most earnestly I wished them
+unuttered. But it was too late--their effect upon Ruby was electrical.
+He was paralyzed with terror; his limbs stiffened convulsively; his eye
+was dilated; he gasped for breath, and was speechless. All of a sudden
+he threw up his arms, and, as though he momentarily expected an
+explosion, he darted down from the poop, and paced frantically up and
+down the deck, gesticulating like a madman, and shouting:
+
+"Fire on board! Fire! Fire!"
+
+On hearing the outcry, all the crew, supposing that the fire had now in
+reality broken out, rushed on deck; the rest of the passengers soon
+joined them, and the scene that ensued was one of the utmost confusion.
+Mrs. Kear fell down senseless on the deck, and her husband, occupied in
+looking after himself, left her to the tender mercies of Miss Herbey.
+Curtis endeavored to silence Ruby's ravings, whilst I, in as few words
+as I could, made M. Letourneur aware of the extent to which the cargo
+was on fire. The father's first thought was for Andre, but the young
+man preserved an admirable composure, and begged his father not to be
+alarmed, as the danger was not immediate. Meanwhile the sailors had
+loosened all the tacklings of the long-boat, and were preparing to
+launch it, when Curtis's voice was heard peremptorily bidding them to
+desist; he assured them that the fire had made no further progress;
+that Mr. Ruby had been unduly excited and not conscious of what he had
+said; and he pledged his word that when the right moment should arrive
+he would allow them all to leave the ship; but that moment, he said,
+had not yet come.
+
+At the sound of a voice which they had learned to honor and respect,
+the crew paused in their operations, and the long-boat remained
+suspended in its place. Fortunately, even Ruby himself in the midst of
+his ravings, had not dropped a word about the picrate that had been
+deposited in the hold; for although the mate had a power over the
+sailors that Captain Huntly had never possessed, I feel certain that if
+the true state of the case had been known, nothing on earth would have
+prevented some of them, in their consternation, from effecting an
+escape. As it was, only Curtis, Falsten, and myself were cognizant of
+the terrible secret.
+
+As soon as order was restored, the mate and I joined Falsten on the
+poop, where he had remained throughout the panic, and where we found
+him with folded arms, deep in thought, as it might be, solving some
+hard mechanical problem. He promised, at my request, that he would
+reveal nothing of the new danger to which we were exposed through
+Ruby's imprudence. Curtis himself took the responsibility of informing
+Captain Huntly of our critical situation.
+
+In order to insure complete secrecy, it was necessary to secure the
+person of the unhappy Ruby, who, quite beside himself, continued to
+rave up and down the deck with the incessant cry of "Fire! fire!"
+Accordingly Curtis gave orders to some of his men to seize him and gag
+him; and before he could make any resistance the miserable man was
+captured and safely lodged in confinement in his own cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CURTIS BECOMES CAPTAIN
+
+
+OCTOBER 22.--Curtis has told the captain everything; for he persists in
+ostensibly recognizing him as his superior officer, and refuses to
+conceal from him our true situation. Captain Huntly received the
+communication in perfect silence, and merely passing his hand across
+his forehead as though to banish some distressing thought, re-entered
+his cabin without a word.
+
+Curtis, Lieutenant Walter, Falsten, and myself have been discussing the
+chances of our safety, and I am surprised to find with how much
+composure we can all survey our anxious predicament.
+
+"There is no doubt," said Curtis, "that we must abandon all hope of
+arresting the fire; the heat toward the bow has already become
+well-nigh unbearable, and the time must come when the flames will find
+a vent through the deck. If the sea is calm enough for us to make use
+of the boats, well and good; we shall of course get quit of the ship as
+quietly as we can; if, on the other hand the weather should be adverse,
+or the wind be boisterous, we must stick to our place, and contend with
+the flames to the very last; perhaps, after all, we shall fare far
+better with the fire as a declared enemy than as a hidden one."
+
+Falsten and I agreed with what he said, and I pointed out to him that
+he had quite overlooked the fact of there being thirty pounds of
+explosive matter in the hold.
+
+"No," he gravely replied, "I have not forgotten it, but it is a
+circumstance of which I do not trust myself to think. I dare not run
+the risk of admitting air into the hold by going down to search for the
+powder, and yet I know not at what moment it may explode. No; it is a
+matter that I cannot take at all into my reckoning; it must remain in
+higher hands than mine."
+
+We bowed our heads in a silence which was solemn. In the present state
+of the weather, immediate flight was, we knew, impossible.
+
+After considerable pause, Mr. Falsten, as calmly as though he were
+delivering some philosophic dogma, quietly observed:
+
+"The explosion, if I may use the formula of science, is not necessary,
+but contingent."
+
+"But tell me, Mr. Falsten," I asked, "is it possible for picrate of
+potash to ignite without concussion?"
+
+"Certainly it is," replied the engineer. "Under ordinary circumstances,
+picrate of potash although not MORE inflammable than common powder, yet
+possesses the SAME degree of inflammability."
+
+We now prepared to go on deck. As we left the saloon, in which we had
+been sitting, Curtis seized my hand.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Kazallon," he exclaimed, "if you only knew the bitterness of
+the agony I feel at seeing this fine vessel doomed to be devoured by
+flames, and at being so powerless to save her." Then quickly recovering
+himself, he continued: "But I am forgetting myself; you, if no other,
+must know what I am suffering. It is all over now," he said more
+cheerfully.
+
+"Is our condition quite desperate?" I asked.
+
+"It is just this," he answered deliberately, "we are over a mine, and
+already the match has been applied to the train. How long that train
+may be, 'tis not for me to say."
+
+And with these words he left me.
+
+The other passengers, in common with the crew, are still in entire
+ignorance of the extremity of peril to which we are exposed, although
+they are all aware that there is fire in the hold. As soon as the fact
+was announced, Mr. Kear, after communicating to Curtis his instructions
+that he thought he should have the fire immediately extinguished, and
+intimating that he held him responsible for all contingencies that
+might happen, retired to his cabin, where he has remained ever since,
+fully occupied in collecting and packing together the more cherished
+articles of his property and without the semblance of a care or a
+thought for his unfortunate wife, whose condition, in spite of her
+ludicrous complaints, was truly pitiable. Miss Herbey, however, is
+unrelaxing in her attentions, and the unremitted diligence with which
+she fulfills her offices of duty, commands my highest admiration.
+
+OCTOBER 23.--This morning, Captain Huntly sent for Curtis into his
+cabin, and the mate has since made me acquainted with what passed
+between them.
+
+"Curtis," began the captain, his haggard eye betraying only too plainly
+some mental derangement, "I am a sailor, am I not?"
+
+"Certainly, captain," was the prompt acquiescence of the mate.
+
+"I do not know how it is," continued the captain, "but I seem
+bewildered; I can not recollect anything. Are we not bound for
+Liverpool? Ah! yes! of course. And have we kept a northeasterly
+direction since we left?"
+
+"No, sir, according to your orders we have been sailing southeast, and
+here we are in the tropics."
+
+"And what is the name of the ship?"
+
+"The Chancellor, sir."
+
+"Yes, yes, the Chancellor, so it is. Well, Curtis, I really can't take
+her back to the north. I hate the sea, the very sight of it makes me
+ill, I would much rather not leave my cabin."
+
+Curtis went on to tell me how he had tried to persuade him that with a
+little time and care he would soon recover his indisposition, and feel
+himself again; but the captain had interrupted him by saying:
+
+"Well, well; we shall see by-and-by; but for the present you must take
+this for my positive order; you must, from this time, at once take the
+command of the ship, and act just as if I were not on board. Under
+present circumstances, I can do nothing. My brain is all in a whirl,
+you can not tell what I am suffering;" and the unfortunate man pressed
+both his hands convulsively against his forehead.
+
+"I weighed the matter carefully for a moment," added Curtis, "and
+seeing what his condition too truly was, I acquiesced in all that he
+required and withdrew, promising him that all his orders should be
+obeyed."
+
+After hearing these particulars, I could not help remarking how
+fortunate it was that the captain had resigned of his own accord, for
+although he might not be actually insane, it was very evident that his
+brain was in a very morbid condition.
+
+"I succeeded him at a very critical moment," said Curtis thoughtfully;
+"but I shall endeavor to do my duty."
+
+A short time afterward he sent for his boatswain and ordered him to
+assemble the crew at the foot of the main-mast. As soon as the men were
+together, he addressed them very calmly, but very firmly.
+
+"My men," he said, "I have to tell you that Captain Huntly, on account
+of the dangerous situation in which circumstances have placed us, and
+for other reasons known to myself, has thought right to resign his
+command to me. From this time forward, I am captain of this vessel."
+
+Thus quietly and simply was the change effected, and we have the
+satisfaction of knowing that the Chancellor is now under the command of
+a conscientious, energetic man, who will shirk nothing that he believes
+to be for our common good. M. Letourneur, Andre, Mr. Falsten, and
+myself immediately offered him our best wishes, in which Lieutenant
+Walter and the boatswain most cordially joined.
+
+The ship still holds her course southwest, and Curtis crowds on all
+sail and makes as speedily as possible for the nearest of the Lesser
+Antilles.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+BETWEEN FIRE AND WATER
+
+
+OCTOBER 24 to 29.--For the last five days the sea has been very heavy,
+and although the Chancellor sails with wind and wave in her favor, yet
+her progress is considerably impeded. Here on board this veritable
+fire-ship I cannot help contemplating with a longing eye this vast
+ocean that surrounds us. The water supply should be all we need.
+
+"Why not bore the deck?" I said to Curtis. "Why not admit the water by
+tons into the hold? What could be the harm? The fire would be quenched;
+and what would be easier than to pump the water out again?"
+
+"I have already told you, Mr. Kazallon," said Curtis, "that the very
+moment we admit the air, the flames will rush forth to the very top of
+the masts. No; we must have courage and patience; we must wait. There
+is nothing whatever to be done, except to close every aperture."
+
+The fire continued to progress even more rapidly than we had hitherto
+suspected. The heat gradually drove the passengers nearly all on deck,
+and the two stern cabins, lighted, as I said, by their windows in the
+aft-board were the only quarters below that were inhabitable. Of these
+Mrs. Kear occupied one, and Curtis reserved the other for Ruby, who, a
+raving maniac, had to be kept rigidly under restraint. I went down
+occasionally to see him, but invariably found him in a state of abject
+terror, uttering horrible shrieks, as though possessed with the idea
+that he was being scorched by the most excruciating heat.
+
+Once or twice, too, I looked in upon the ex-captain. He was always calm
+and spoke quite rationally on any subject except his own profession;
+but in connection with that he prated away the merest nonsense. He
+suffered greatly, but steadily declined all my offers of attention, and
+pertinaciously refused to leave his cabin.
+
+To-day, an acrid, nauseating smoke made its way through the panelings
+that partition off the quarters of the crew. At once Curtis ordered the
+partition to be enveloped in wet tarpaulin, but the fumes penetrated
+even this, and filled the whole neighborhood of the ship's bows with a
+reeking vapor that was positively stifling. As we listened, too, we
+could hear a dull rumbling sound, but we were as mystified as ever to
+comprehend where the air could have entered that was evidently fanning
+the flames. Only too certainly, it was now becoming a question not of
+days nor even of hours before we must be prepared for the final
+catastrophe. The sea was still running high, and escape by the boats
+was plainly impossible. Fortunately, as I have said, the mainmast and
+the mizzen are of iron; otherwise the great heat at their base would
+long ago have brought them down and our chances of safety would have
+been very much imperiled; but by crowding on sail the Chancellor in the
+full northeast wind continued to make her way with undiminished speed.
+
+It is now a fortnight since the fire was first discovered, and the
+proper working of the ship has gradually become a more and more
+difficult matter. Even with thick shoes any attempt to walk upon deck
+up to the forecastle was soon impracticable, and the poop, simply
+because its floor is elevated somewhat above the level of the hold, is
+now the only available standing-place. Water began to lose its effect
+upon the scorched and shriveling planks; the resin oozed out from the
+knots in the wood, the seams burst open, and the tar, melted by the
+heat, followed the rollings of the vessel, and formed fantastic
+patterns about the deck.
+
+Then to complete our perplexity, the wind shifted suddenly round to the
+northwest, whence it blew a perfect hurricane. To no purpose did Curtis
+do everything in his power to bring the ship ahull; every effort was in
+vain; the Chancellor could not bear her trysail, so there was nothing
+to be done but to let her go with the wind, and drift further and
+further from the land for which we are longing so eagerly.
+
+To-day, the 29th, the tempest seemed to reach its height; the waves
+appeared to us mountains high, and dashed the spray most violently
+across the deck. A boat could not live a moment in such a sea.
+
+Our situation is terrible. We all wait in silence, some few on the
+forecastle, the great proportion of us on the poop. As for the picrate,
+for the time we have quite forgotten its existence; indeed it might
+almost seem as though its explosion would come as a relief, for no
+catastrophe, however terrible, could far exceed the torture of our
+suspense.
+
+While he had still the remaining chance, Curtis rescued from the
+store-room such few provisions as the heat of the compartment allowed
+him to obtain; and a lot of cases of salt meat and biscuits, a cask of
+brandy, some barrels of fresh water, together with some sails and
+wraps, a compass and other instruments are now lying packed in a mass
+all ready for prompt removal to the boats whenever we shall be obliged
+to leave the ship.
+
+About eight o'clock in the evening, a noise is heard, distinct even
+above the raging of the hurricane. The panels of the deck are upheaved,
+and volumes of black smoke issue upward as if from a safety-valve. A
+universal consternation seizes one and all; we must leave the volcano
+which is about to burst beneath our feet. The crew run to Curtis for
+orders. He hesitates; looks first at the huge and threatening waves;
+looks then at the boats. The long-boat is there, suspended right along
+the center of the deck; but it is impossible to approach it now; the
+yawl, however, hoisted on the starboard side, and the whale-boat
+suspended aft, are still available. The sailors make frantically for
+the yawl.
+
+"Stop, stop," shouts Curtis; "do you mean to cut off our last and only
+chance of safety? Would you launch a boat in such a sea as this?"
+
+A few of them, with Owen at their head, give no heed to what he says.
+Rushing to the poop, and seizing a cutlass, Curtis shouts again:
+
+"Touch the tackling of the davit, one of you; only touch it, and I'll
+cleave your skull."
+
+Awed by his determined manner, the men retire, some clambering into the
+shrouds, while others mount to the very top of the masts.
+
+At eleven o'clock, several loud reports are heard, caused by the
+bursting asunder of the partitions of the hold. Clouds of smoke issue
+from the front, followed by a long tongue of lambent flame that seems
+to encircle the mizzen-mast. The fire now reaches to the cabin of Mrs.
+Kear, who, shrieking wildly, is brought on deck by Miss Herbey. A
+moment more, and Silas Huntly makes his appearance, his face all
+blackened with the grimy smoke; he bows to Curtis, as he passes, and
+then proceeds in the calmest manner to mount the aft-shrouds, and
+installs himself at the very top of the mizzen.
+
+The sight of Huntly recalls to my recollection the prisoner still
+below, and my first impulse is to rush to the staircase and do what I
+can to set him free. But the maniac has already eluded his confinement,
+and with singed hair and his clothes already alight, rushes upon deck.
+Like a salamander he passes across the burning deck with unscathed
+feet, and glides through the stifling smoke with unchoked breath. Not a
+sound escapes his lips.
+
+Another loud report; the long-boat is shivered into fragments; the
+middle panel bursts the tarpaulin that covered it, and a stream of
+fire, free at length from the restraint that had held it, rises
+half-mast high.
+
+"The picrate! the picrate!" shrieks the madman; "we shall all be blown
+up! the picrate will blow us all up."
+
+And in an instant, before we can get near him, he has buried himself,
+through the open hatchway, down into the fiery furnace below.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+BREAKERS TO STARBOARD!
+
+
+OCTOBER 20.--Night.--The scene, as night came on, was terrible indeed.
+Notwithstanding the desperateness of our situation, however, there was
+not one of us so paralyzed by fear, but that we fully realized the
+horror of it all.
+
+Poor Ruby, indeed, is lost and gone, but his last words were productive
+of serious consequences. The sailors caught his cry of "Picrate,
+picrate!" and being thus for the first time made aware of the true
+nature of their peril, they resolved at every hazard to accomplish
+their escape. Beside themselves with terror, they either did not, or
+would not, see that no boat could brave the tremendous waves that were
+raging around, and accordingly they made a frantic rush toward the
+yawl. Curtis again made a vigorous endeavor to prevent them, but this
+time all in vain; Owen urged them on, and already the tackling was
+loosened, so that the boat was swung over to the ship's side. For a
+moment it hung suspended in mid-air, and then, with a final effort from
+the sailors, it was quickly lowered into the sea. But scarcely had it
+touched the water, when it was caught by an enormous wave which,
+recoiling with resistless violence, dashed it to atoms against the
+Chancellor's side.
+
+The men stood aghast; they were dumbfounded. Longboat and yawl both
+gone, there was nothing now remaining to us but a small whale-boat. Not
+a word was spoken; not a sound was heard but the hoarse whistling of
+the wind, and the mournful roaring of the flames. From the center of
+the ship, which was hollowed out like a furnace, there issued a column
+of sooty vapor that ascended to the sky. All the passengers, and
+several of the crew, took refuge in the aft-quarters of the poop. Mrs.
+Kear was lying senseless on one of the hen-coops, with Miss Herbey
+sitting passively at her side; M. Letourneur held his son tightly
+clasped to his bosom. I saw Falsten calmly consult his watch, and note
+down the time in his memorandum-book, but I was far from sharing his
+composure, for I was overcome by a nervous agitation that I could not
+suppress.
+
+As far as we knew, Lieutenant Walter, the boatswain, and such of the
+crew as were not with us, were safe in the bow; but it was impossible
+to tell how they were faring, because the sheet of fire intervened like
+a curtain, and cut off all communication between stem and stern.
+
+I broke the dismal silence, saying, "All over now Curtis."
+
+"No, sir, not yet," he replied, "now that the panel is open we will set
+to work, and pour water with all our might down into the furnace, and
+may be, we shall put it out, even yet."
+
+"But how can you work your pumps while the deck is burning? and how can
+you get at your men beyond that sheet of flame?"
+
+He made no answer to my impetuous questions, and finding he had nothing
+more to say, I repeated that it was all over now.
+
+After a pause, he said, "As long as a plank of the ship remains to
+stand on, Mr. Kazallon, I shall not give up my hope."
+
+But the conflagration raged with redoubled fury, the sea around us was
+lighted with a crimson glow, and the clouds above shone with a lurid
+glare. Long jets of fire darted across the hatchways, and we were
+forced to take refuge on the taffrail at the extreme end of the poop.
+Mrs. Kear was laid in the whale-boat that hung from the stern. Miss
+Herbey persisting to the last in retaining her post by her side.
+
+No pen could adequately portray the horrors of this fearful night. The
+Chancellor under bare poles, was driven, like a gigantic fire-ship with
+frightful velocity across the raging ocean; her very speed as it were,
+making common cause with the hurricane to fan the fire that was
+consuming her. Soon there could be no alternative between throwing
+ourselves into the sea, or perishing in the flames.
+
+But where, all this time, was the picrate? Perhaps, after all, Ruby had
+deceived us and there was no volcano, such as we dreaded, below our
+feet.
+
+At half-past eleven, when the tempest seems at its very height, there
+is heard a peculiar roar distinguishable even above the crash of the
+elements. The sailors in an instant recognize its import.
+
+"Breakers to starboard!" is the cry.
+
+Curtis leaps on to the netting, casts a rapid glance at the snow-white
+billows, and turning to the helmsman shouts with all his might,
+"Starboard the helm!"
+
+But it is too late. There is a sudden shock; the ship is caught up by
+an enormous wave; she rises upon her beam ends; several times she
+strikes the ground; the mizzen-mast snaps short off level with the
+deck, falls into the sea, and the Chancellor is motionless.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+SHIPWRECKED
+
+
+THE night of the 29th continued.--It was not yet midnight; the darkness
+was most profound, and we could see nothing. But was it probable that
+we had stranded on the coast of America?
+
+Very shortly after the ship had thus come to a stand-still a clanking
+of chains was heard proceeding from her bows.
+
+"That is well," said Curtis; "Walter and the boatswain have cast both
+the anchors. Let us hope they will hold."
+
+Then, clinging to the netting, he clambered along the starboard side,
+on which the ship had heeled, as far as the flames would allow him. He
+clung to the holdfasts of the shrouds, and in spite of the heavy seas
+that dashed against the vessel he maintained his position for a
+considerable time, evidently listening to some sound that had caught
+his ear in the midst of the tempest. In about a quarter of an hour he
+returned to the poop.
+
+"Heaven be praised!" he said, "the water is coming in, and perhaps may
+get the better of the fire."
+
+"True," said I, "but what then?"
+
+"That," he replied, "is a question for bye-and-bye. We can think now
+only of the present."
+
+Already I fancied that the violence of the flames was somewhat abated,
+and that the two opposing elements were in fierce contention. Some
+plank in the ship's side was evidently stove in, admitting free passage
+for the waves. But how, when the water had mastered the fire, should we
+be able to master the water? Our natural course would be to use the
+pumps, but these, in the very midst of the conflagration, were quite
+unavailable.
+
+For three long hours, in anxious suspense, we watched, and waited.
+Where we were we could not tell. One thing alone was certain; the tide
+was ebbing beneath us, and the waves were relaxing in their violence.
+Once let the fire be extinguished, and then, perhaps, there would be
+room to hope that the next high tide would set us afloat.
+
+Toward half-past four in the morning the curtain of fire and smoke,
+which had shut off communication between the two extremities of the
+ship, became less dense, and we could faintly distinguish that party of
+the crew who had taken refuge in the forecastle; and before long,
+although it was impracticable to step upon the deck, the lieutenant and
+the boatswain contrived to clamber over the gunwale, along the rails,
+and joined Curtis on the poop.
+
+Here they held a consultation, to which I was admitted. They were all
+of opinion that nothing could be done until daylight should give us
+something of an idea of our actual position. If we then found that we
+were near the shore, we would, weather permitting, endeavor to land,
+either in the boat or upon a raft. If, on the other hand, no land were
+in sight, and the Chancellor were ascertained to be stranded on some
+isolated reef, all we could do would be to get her afloat, and put her
+into condition for reaching the nearest coast. Curtis told us that it
+was long since he had been able to take any observation of latitude,
+but there was no doubt the northwest wind had driven us far to the
+south; and he thought, as he was ignorant of the existence of any reef
+in this part of the Atlantic, that it was just possible that we had
+been driven on to the coast of some portion of South America.
+
+I reminded him that we were in momentary expectation of an explosion,
+and suggested that it would be advisable to abandon the ship and take
+refuge on the reef. But he would not hear of such a proceeding, said
+that the reef would probably be covered at high tide, and persisted in
+the original resolution, that no decided action could be taken before
+the daylight appeared.
+
+I immediately reported this decision of the captain to my
+fellow-passengers. None of them seemed to realize the new danger to
+which the Chancellor may be exposed by being cast upon an unknown reef,
+hundreds of miles it may be from land. All are for the time possessed
+with one idea, one hope; and that is, that the fire may now be quenched
+and the explosion averted.
+
+And certainly their hopes seem in a fair way of being fulfilled.
+Already the raging flames that poured forth from the hatches have given
+place to dense black smoke, and although occasionally some fiery
+streaks dart across the dusky fumes, yet they are instantly
+extinguished. The waves are doing what pumps and buckets could never
+have effected; by their inundation they are steadily stifling the fire
+which was as steadily spreading to the whole bulk of the 1,700 bales of
+cotton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+SILAS HUNTLY RESCUED FROM THE WAVES
+
+
+OCTOBER 30.--At the first gleam of daylight we eagerly scanned the
+southern and western horizons, but the morning mists limited our view.
+Land was nowhere to be seen. The tide was now almost at its lowest ebb,
+and the color of the few peaks of rock that jutted up around us showed
+that the reef on which we had stranded was of basaltic formation. There
+were now only about six feet of water around the Chancellor, though
+with a full freight she draws about fifteen. It was remarkable how far
+she had been carried on to the shelf of rock, but the number of times
+that she had touched the bottom before she finally ran aground left us
+no doubt that she had been lifted up and borne along on the top of an
+enormous wave. She now lies with her stern considerably higher than her
+bows, a position which renders walking upon the deck anything but an
+easy matter, moreover as the tide receded she heeled over so much to
+larboard that at one time Curtis feared she would altogether capsize;
+that fear, however, since the tide has reached its lowest mark, has
+happily proved groundless.
+
+At six o'clock some violent blows were felt against the ship's side,
+and at the same time a voice was distinguished, shouting loudly,
+"Curtis! Curtis!" Following the direction of the cries we saw that the
+broken mizzen-mast was being washed against the vessel, and in the
+dusky morning twilight we could make out the figure of a man clinging
+to the rigging. Curtis, at the peril of his life, hastened to bring the
+man on board. It proved to be none other than Silas Huntly, who, after
+being carried overboard with the mast, had thus, almost by a miracle,
+escaped a watery grave. Without a word of thanks to his deliverer, the
+ex-captain, passive, like an automaton, passed on and took his seat in
+the most secluded corner of the poop. The broken mizzen may, perhaps,
+be of service to us at some future time, and with that idea it has been
+rescued from the waves and lashed securely to the stern.
+
+By this time it was light enough to see for a distance of three miles
+round; but as yet nothing could be discerned to make us think that we
+were near a coast. The line of breakers ran for about a mile from
+southwest to northeast, and two hundred fathoms to the north of the
+ship an irregular mass of rocks formed a small islet. This islet rose
+about fifty feet above the sea, and was consequently above the level of
+the highest tides; while a sort of causeway, available at low water,
+would enable us to reach the island, if necessity required. But there
+the reef ended; beyond it the sea again resumed its somber hue,
+betokening deep water. In all probability, then, this was a solitary
+shoal, unattached to a shore, and the gloom of a bitter disappointment
+began to weigh upon our spirits.
+
+In another hour the mists had totally disappeared, and it was broad
+daylight. I and M. Letourneur stood watching Curtis as he continued
+eagerly to scan the western horizon. Astonishment was written on his
+countenance; to him it appeared perfectly incredible that, after our
+course for so long had been due south from the Bermudas, no land should
+be in sight. But not a speck, however minute, broke the clearly-defined
+line that joined sea and sky. After a time Curtis made his way along
+the netting to the shrouds, and swung himself quickly up to the top of
+the mainmast. For several minutes he remained there examining the open
+space around, then seizing one of the backstays he glided down and
+rejoined us on the poop.
+
+"No land in sight," he said, in answer to our eager looks.
+
+At this point Mr. Kear interposed, and in a gruff, ill-tempered tone,
+asked Curtis where we were. Curtis replied that he did not know.
+
+"You don't know, sir? Then all I can say is that you ought to know!"
+exclaimed the petroleum merchant.
+
+"That may be, sir; but at present I am as ignorant of our whereabouts
+as you are yourself," said Curtis.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Kear, "just please to know that I don't want to stay
+forever on your everlasting ship, so I beg you will make haste and
+start off again."
+
+Curtis condescended to make no other reply than a shrug of the
+shoulders, and turning away he informed M. Letourneur and myself that
+if the sun came out he intended to take its altitude and find out to
+what part of the ocean we had been driven.
+
+His next care was to distribute preserved meat and biscuit among the
+passengers and crew already half fainting with hunger and fatigue, and
+then he set to work to devise measures for setting the ship afloat.
+
+The conflagration was greatly abated; no flames now appeared, and
+although some black smoke still issued from the interior, yet its
+volume was far less than before. The first step was to discover how
+much water had entered the hold. The deck was still too hot to walk
+upon; but after two hours' irrigation the boards became sufficiently
+cool for the boatswain to proceed to take some soundings, and he
+shortly afterward announced that there were five feet of water below.
+This the captain determined should not be pumped out at present, as he
+wanted it thoroughly to do its duty before he got rid of it.
+
+The next subject for consideration was whether it would be advisable to
+abandon the vessel, and to take refuge on the reef. Curtis thought not;
+and the lieutenant and the boatswain agreed with him. The chances of an
+explosion were greatly diminished, as it had been ascertained that the
+water had reached that part of the hold in which Ruby's luggage had
+been deposited; while, on the other hand, in the event of rough
+weather, our position even upon the most elevated points of rock might
+be very critical. It was accordingly resolved that both passengers and
+crew were safest on board.
+
+Acting upon this decision we proceeded to make a kind of encampment on
+the poop, and a few mattresses that were rescued uninjured have been
+given up for the use of the two ladies. Such of the crew as had saved
+their hammocks have been told to place them under the forecastle where
+they would have to stow themselves as best they could, their ordinary
+quarters being absolutely uninhabitable.
+
+Fortunately, although the store-room has been considerably exposed to
+the heat, its contents are not very seriously damaged, and all the
+barrels of water and the greater part of the provisions are quite
+intact. The stock of spare sails, which had been packed away in front,
+is also free from injury. The wind has dropped considerably since the
+early morning, and the swell in the sea is far less heavy. On the whole
+our spirits are reviving and we begin to think we may yet find a way
+out of our troubles.
+
+M. Letourneur, his son, and I, have just had a long conversation about
+the ship's officers. We consider their conduct, under the late trying
+circumstances, to have been most exemplary, and their courage, energy,
+and endurance to have been beyond all praise. Lieutenant Walter, the
+boatswain, and Dowlas the carpenter have all alike distinguished
+themselves, and made us feel that they are men to be relied on. As for
+Curtis, words can scarcely be found to express our admiration of his
+character; he is the same as he has ever been, the very life of his
+crew, cheering them on by word or gesture; finding an expedient for
+every difficulty, and always foremost in every action.
+
+The tide turned at seven this morning, and by eleven all the rocks were
+submerged, none of them being visible except the cluster of those which
+formed the rim of a small and almost circular basin from 230 to 300
+feet in diameter, in the north angle of which the ship is lying. As the
+tide rose the white breakers disappeared, and the sea, fortunately for
+the Chancellor, was pretty calm; otherwise the dashing of the waves
+against her sides, as she lies motionless, might have been attended by
+serious consequences.
+
+As might be supposed, the height of the water in the hold increased
+with the tide from five feet to nine; but this was rather a matter of
+congratulation, inasmuch as it sufficed to inundate another layer of
+cotton.
+
+At half-past eleven the sun, which had been behind the clouds since ten
+o'clock, broke forth brightly. The captain, who had already in the
+morning been able to calculate an horary angle, now prepared to take
+the meridian altitude, and succeeded at midday in making his
+observation most satisfactorily. After retiring for a short time to
+calculate the result, he returned to the poop and announced that we are
+in lat. 18 deg. 5' N. and long. 45 deg. 53' W., but that the reef on
+which we are aground is not marked on the charts. The only explanation
+that can be given for the omission is that the islet must be of recent
+formation, and has been caused by some subterranean volcanic
+disturbance. But whatever may be the solution of the mystery, here we
+are 800 miles from land; for such, on consulting the map, we find to be
+the actual distance to the coast of Guiana, which is the nearest shore.
+Such is the position to which we have been brought, in the first place,
+by Huntly's senseless obstinacy, and, secondly, by the furious
+northwest gale.
+
+Yet, after all, the captain's communication does not dishearten us. As
+I said before, our spirits are reviving. We have escaped the peril of
+fire; the fear of explosion is past and gone: and oblivious of the fact
+that the ship with a hold full of water is only too likely to founder
+when she puts out to sea, we feel a confidence in the future that
+forbids us to despond.
+
+Meanwhile Curtis prepares to do all that common sense demands. He
+proposes, when the fire is quite extinguished, to throw overboard the
+whole, or the greater portion of the cargo, including, of course, the
+picrate; he will next plug up the leak, and then, with a lightened
+ship, he will take advantage of the first high tide to quit the reef as
+speedily as possible.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+M. LETOURNEUR IS PESSIMISTIC
+
+
+OCTOBER 30.--Once again I talked to M. Letourneur about our situation,
+and endeavored to animate him with the hope that we should not be
+detained for long in our present predicament; but he could not be
+brought to take a very sanguine view of our prospects.
+
+"But surely," I protested, "it will not be difficult to throw overboard
+a few hundred bales of cotton; two or three days at most will suffice
+for that."
+
+"Likely enough," he replied, "when the business is once begun; but you
+must remember, Mr. Kazallon, that the very heart of the cargo is still
+smoldering, and that it will still be several days before anyone will
+be able to venture into the hold. Then the leak, too, that has to be
+caulked; and, unless it is stopped up very effectually, we shall only
+be doomed most certainly to perish at sea. Don't then, be deceiving
+yourself; it must be three weeks at least before you can expect to put
+out to sea. I can only hope meanwhile that the weather will continue
+propitious; it wouldn't take many storms to knock the Chancellor,
+shattered as she is, completely into pieces."
+
+Here, then, was the suggestion of a new danger to which we were to be
+exposed; the fire might be extinguished, the water might be got rid of
+by the pumps, but, after all, we must be at the mercy of the wind and
+waves; and, although the rocky island might afford a temporary refuge
+from the tempest, what was to become of passengers and crew if the
+vessel should be reduced to a total wreck? I made no remonstrance,
+however, to this view of our case, but merely asked M. Letourneur if he
+had confidence in Robert Curtis?
+
+"Perfect confidence," he answered; "and I acknowledge it most
+gratefully, as a providential circumstance, that Captain Huntly had
+given him the command in time. Whatever man can do I know that Curtis
+will not leave undone to extricate us from our dilemma."
+
+Prompted by this conversation with M. Letourneur I took the first
+opportunity of trying to ascertain from Curtis himself how long he
+reckoned we should be obliged to remain upon the reef; but he merely
+replied, that it must depend upon circumstances, and that he hoped the
+weather would continue favorable. Fortunately the barometer is rising
+steadily, and there is every sign of a prolonged calm.
+
+Meantime Curtis is taking active measures for totally extinguishing the
+fire. He is at no great pains to spare the cargo, and as the bales that
+lie just above the level of the water are still a-light he has resorted
+to the expedient of thoroughly saturating the upper layers of the
+cotton, in order that the combustion may be stifled between the
+moisture descending from above and that ascending from below. This
+scheme has brought the pumps once more into requisition. At present the
+crew are adequate to the task of working them, but I and some of our
+fellow-passengers are ready to offer our assistance whenever it shall
+be necessary.
+
+With no immediate demand upon our labor, we are thrown upon our own
+resources for passing our time. M. Letourneur, Andre, and myself, have
+frequent conversations; I also devote an hour or two to my diary.
+Falsten holds little communication with any of us, but remains absorbed
+in his calculations, and amuses himself by tracing mechanical diagrams
+with ground-plan, section, elevation, all complete. It would be a happy
+inspiration if he could invent some mighty engine that could set us all
+afloat again. Mr. and Mrs. Kear, too, hold themselves aloof from their
+fellow-passengers, and we are not sorry to be relieved from the
+necessity of listening to their incessant grumbling; unfortunately,
+however, they carry off Miss Herbey with them, so that we enjoy little
+or nothing of the young lady's society. As for Silas Huntly, he has
+become a complete nonentity; he exists, it is true, but merely, it
+would seem, to vegetate.
+
+Hobart, the steward, an obsequious, sly sort of fellow, goes through
+his routine of duties just as though the vessel were pursuing her
+ordinary course; and, as usual, is continually falling out with
+Jynxstrop, the cook, an impudent, ill-favored negro, who interferes
+with the other sailors in a manner which, I think, ought not to be
+allowed.
+
+Since it appears likely that we shall have abundance of time on our
+hands, I have proposed to M. Letourneur and his son that we shall
+together explore the reef on which we are stranded. It is not very
+probable that we shall be able to discover much about the origin of
+this strange accumulation of rocks, yet the attempt will at least
+occupy us for some hours, and will relieve us from the monotony of our
+confinement on board. Besides, as the reef is not marked in any of the
+maps, I could not but believe that it would be rendering a service to
+hydrography if we were to take an accurate plan of the rocks, of which
+Curtis could afterward verify the true position by a second observation
+made with a closer precision than the one he has already taken.
+
+M. Letourneur agrees to my proposal, Curtis has promised to let us have
+the boat and some sounding-lines, and to allow one of the sailors to
+accompany us; so to-morrow morning, we hope to make our little voyage
+of investigation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+WE EXPLORE THE REEF
+
+
+OCTOBER 31 to November 5.--Our first proceeding on the morning of the
+31st was to make the proposed tour of the reef, which is about a
+quarter of a mile long. With the aid of our sounding-lines we found
+that the water was deep, right up to the very rocks, and that no
+shelving shores prevented us coasting along them. There was not a
+shadow of doubt as to the rock being of purely volcanic origin,
+up-heaved by some mighty subterranean convulsion.   It is formed of
+blocks of basalt, arranged in perfect order, of which the regular
+prisms give the whole mass the effect of being one gigantic crystal;
+and the remarkable transparency of the sea enabled us plainly to
+observe the curious shafts of the prismatic columns that support the
+marvelous substructure.
+
+"This is indeed a singular island," said M. Letourneur; "evidently it
+is of quite recent origin."
+
+"Yes, father," said Andre, "and I should think it has been caused by a
+phenomenon similar to those which produced the Julia Island, off the
+coast of Sicily, or the group of the Santorini, in the Grecian
+Archipelago. One could almost fancy that it had been created expressly
+for the Chancellor to strand upon."
+
+"It is very certain," I observed, "that some upheaving has lately taken
+place. This is by no means an unfrequented part of the Atlantic, so
+that it is not at all likely that it could have escaped the notice of
+sailors if it had been always in existence; yet it is not marked even
+in the most modern charts. We must try and explore it thoroughly and
+give future navigators the benefit of our observations."
+
+"But, perhaps, it will disappear as it came," said Andre. "You are no
+doubt aware, Mr. Kazallon, that these volcanic islands sometimes have a
+very transitory existence. Not impossibly, by the time it gets marked
+upon the maps it may no longer be here."
+
+"Never mind, my boy," answered his father, "it is better to give
+warning of a danger that does not exist than overlook one that does. I
+dare say the sailors will not grumble much, if they don't find a reef
+where we have marked one."
+
+"No, I dare say not, father," said Andre, "and after all this island is
+very likely as firm as a continent. However, if it is to disappear, I
+expect Captain Curtis would be glad to see it take its departure as
+soon as possible after he has finished his repairs; it would save him a
+world of trouble in getting his ship afloat."
+
+"Why, what a fellow you are, Andre!" I said, laughing; "I believe you
+would like to rule Nature with a magic wand, first of all, you would
+call up a reef from the depth of the ocean to give the Chancellor time
+to extinguish her flames, and then you would make it disappear just
+that the ship might be free again."
+
+Andre smiled; then, in a more serious tone, he expressed his gratitude
+for the timely help that had been vouchsafed us in our hour of need.
+
+The more we examined the rocks that formed the base of the little
+island, the more we became convinced that its formation was quite
+recent. Not a mollusk, not a tuft of seaweed was found clinging to the
+sides of the rocks; not a germ had the wind carried to its surface, not
+a bird had taken refuge amid the crags upon its summits. To a lover of
+natural history, the spot did not yield a single point of interest; the
+geologist alone would find subject of study in the basaltic mass.
+
+When we reached the southern point of the island I proposed that we
+should disembark. My companions readily assented, young Letourneur
+jocosely observing that if the little island was destined to vanish, it
+was quite right that it should first be visited by human beings. The
+boat was accordingly brought alongside, and we set foot upon the reef,
+and began to ascend the gradual slope that leads to its highest
+elevation.
+
+The walking was not very rough, and as Andre could get along tolerably
+well without the assistance of an arm, he led the way, his father and I
+following close behind. A quarter of an hour sufficed to bring us to
+the loftiest point in the islet, when we seated ourselves on the
+basaltic prism that crowned its summit.
+
+Andre took a sketch-book from his pocket, and proceeded to make a
+drawing of the reef. Scarcely had he completed the outline when his
+father exclaimed:
+
+"Why, Andre, you have drawn a ham!"
+
+"Something uncommonly like it, I confess," replied Andre. "I think we
+had better ask Captain Curtis to let us call our island Ham Rock."
+
+"Good," said I; "though sailors will need to keep it at a respectful
+distance, for they will scarcely find that their teeth are strong
+enough to tackle it."
+
+M. Letourneur was quite correct; the outline of the reef as it stood
+clearly defined against the deep green water resembled nothing so much
+as a fine York ham, of which the little creek, where the Chancellor had
+been stranded, corresponded to the hollow place above the knuckle. The
+tide at this time was low, and the ship now lay heeled over very much
+to the starboard side, the few points of rock that emerged in the
+extreme south of the reef plainly marking the narrow passage through
+which she had been forced before she finally ran aground.
+
+As soon as Andre had finished his sketch we descended by a slope as
+gradual as that by which we had come up, and made our way toward the
+west. We had not gone very far when a beautiful grotto, perfect as an
+architectural structure, arrested our attention. M. Letourneur and
+Andre, who have visited the Hebrides, pronounced it to be a Fingal's
+cave in miniature; a Gothic chapel that might form a fit vestibule for
+the cathedral cave of Staffa. The basaltic rocks had cooled down into
+the same regular concentric prisms; there was the same dark canopied
+roof with its interstices filled up with its yellow lutings; the same
+precision of outline in the prismatic angles, sharp as though chiseled
+by a sculptor's hand; the same sonorous vibration of the air across the
+basaltic rocks, of which the Gaelic poets have feigned that the harps
+of the Fingal minstrelsy were made. But whereas at Staffa the floor of
+the cave is always covered with a sheet of water, here the grotto was
+beyond the reach of all but the highest waves, while the prismatic
+shafts themselves formed quite a solid pavement.
+
+After remaining nearly an hour in our newly-discovered grotto we
+returned to the Chancellor, and communicated the result of our
+explorations to Curtis, who entered the island upon his chart, by the
+name Andre Letourneur had proposed.
+
+Since its discovery we have not permitted a day to pass without
+spending some time in our Ham Rock grotto. Curtis has taken an
+opportunity of visiting it, but he is too preoccupied with other
+matters to have much interest to spare for the wonders of nature.
+Falsten, too, came once and examined the character of the rocks,
+knocking and chipping them about with all the mercilessness of a
+geologist. Mr. Kear would not trouble himself to leave the ship; and
+although I asked his wife to join us in one of our excursions she
+declined, upon the plea that the fatigue, as well as the inconvenience
+of embarking in the boat, would be more than she could bear.
+
+Miss Herbey, only to thankful to escape even for an hour from her
+capricious mistress, eagerly accepted M. Letourneur's invitation to pay
+a visit to the reef, but to her great disappointment Mrs. Kear at first
+refused point-blank to allow her to leave the ship. I felt intensely
+annoyed, and resolved to intercede in Miss Herbey's favor; and as I had
+already rendered that self-indulgent lady sundry services which she
+though she might probably be glad again to accept, I gained my point,
+and Miss Herbey has several times been permitted to accompany us across
+the rocks, where the young girl's delight at her freedom has been a
+pleasure to behold.
+
+Sometimes we fish along the shore, and then enjoy a luncheon in the
+grotto, while the basalt columns vibrate like harps to the breeze. This
+arid reef, little as it is, compared with the cramped limits of the
+Chancellor's deck is like some vast domain; soon there will be scarcely
+a stone with which we are not familiar, scarcely a portion of its
+surface which we have not trodden, and I am sure that when the hour of
+departure arrives we shall leave it with regret.
+
+In the course of conversation, Andre Letourneur one day happened to say
+that he believed the island of Staffa belonged to the Macdonald family,
+who let it for the small sum of L.12 a year.
+
+"I suppose then," said Miss Herbey, "that we should hardly get more
+than half-a-crown a year for our pet little island."
+
+"I don't think you would get a penny for it. Miss Herbey; but are you
+thinking of taking a lease?" I said laughing.
+
+"Not at present," she said; then added, with a half-suppressed sigh,
+"and yet it is a place where I have seemed to know what it is to be
+really happy."
+
+Andre murmured some expression of assent, and we all felt that there
+was something touching in the words of the orphaned, friendless girl
+who had found her long-lost sense of happiness on a lonely rock in the
+Atlantic.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CARGO UNLOADED
+
+
+NOVEMBER 6 to November 15.--For the first five days after the
+Chancellor had run aground, there was a dense black smoke continually
+rising from the hold; but it gradually diminished until the 6th of
+November, when we might consider that the fire was extinguished.
+Curtis, nevertheless, deemed it prudent to persevere in working the
+pumps, which he did until the entire hull of the ship, right up to the
+deck, had been completely inundated.
+
+The rapidity, however, with which the water, at every retreat of the
+tide, drained off to the level of the sea, was an indication that the
+leak must be of considerable magnitude; and such, on investigation,
+proved to be the case. One of the sailors, named Flaypole, dived one
+day at low water to examine the extent of the damage, and found that
+the hole was not much less than four feet square, and was situated
+thirty feet fore of the helm, and two feet above the rider of the keel;
+three planks had been stove in by a sharp point of rock and it was only
+a wonder that the violence with which the heavily-laden vessel had been
+thrown ashore did not result in the smashing in of many parts beside.
+
+As it would be a couple of days or more before the hold would be in a
+condition for the bales of cotton to be removed for the carpenter to
+examine the damage from the interior of the ship, Curtis employed the
+interval in having the broken mizzen-mast repaired. Dowlas the
+carpenter, with considerable skill, contrived to mortise it into its
+former stump, and made the junction thoroughly secure by strong
+iron-belts and bolts. The shrouds, the stays and backstays, were then
+carefully refitted, some of the sails were changed, and the whole of
+the running rigging was renewed. Injury, to some extent, had been done
+to the poop and to the crew's lockers in the front; but time and labor
+were all that were wanted to make them good; and with such a will did
+everybody set to work that it was not long before all the cabins were
+again available for use.
+
+On the 8th the unlading of the ship commenced. Pulleys and tackling
+were put over the hatches, and passengers and crew together proceeded
+to haul up the heavy bales which had been deluged so frequently by
+water that the cotton was all but spoiled. One by one the sodden bales
+were placed in the boat to be transported to the reef. After the first
+layer of cotton had been removed it became necessary to drain off part
+of the water that filled the hold. For this purpose the leak in the
+side had somehow or other to be stopped, and this was an operation
+which was cleverly accomplished by Dowlas and Flaypole, who contrived
+to dive at low tide and nail a sheet of copper over the entire hole.
+This, however, of itself would have been utterly inadequate to sustain
+the pressure that would arise from the action of the pumps; so Curtis
+ordered that a number of the bales should be piled up inside against
+the broken planks. The scheme succeeded very well, and as the water got
+lower and lower in the hold the men were enabled to resume their task
+of unlading.
+
+Curtis thinks it quite probable that the leaks may be mended from the
+interior. By far the best way of repairing the damage would be to
+careen the ship, and to shift the planking, but the appliances are
+wanting for such an undertaking; moreover, any bad weather which might
+occur while the ship was on her flank would only too certainly be fatal
+to her altogether. But the captain has very little doubt that by some
+device or other he shall manage to patch up the hole in such a way as
+will insure our reaching land in safety.
+
+After two days' toil the water was entirely reduced, and without
+further difficulty the unlading was completed. All of us, including
+even Andre Letourneur, have been taking our turn at the pumps, for the
+work is so extremely fatiguing that the crew require some occasional
+respite; arms and back soon become strained and weary with the
+incessant swing of the handles, and I can well understand the dislike
+which sailors always express to the labor.
+
+One thing there is which is much in our favor; the ship lies on a firm
+and solid bottom, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are
+not contending with a flood that encroaches faster than it can be
+resisted. Heaven grant that we may not be called to make like efforts,
+and to make them hopelessly, for a foundering ship!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+EXAMINATION OF THE HOLD
+
+
+NOVEMBER 15 to 20.--The examination of the hold has at last been made.
+Among the first things that were found was the case of picrate,
+perfectly intact, having neither been injured by the water, nor of
+course reached by the flames. Why it was not at once pitched into the
+sea I cannot say; but it was merely conveyed to the extremity of the
+island, and there it remains.
+
+While they were below, Curtis and Dowlas made themselves acquainted
+with the full extent of the mischief that had been done by the
+conflagration. They found that the deck and the cross-beams that
+supported it had been much less injured than they expected, and the
+thick, heavy planks had only been scorched very superficially. But the
+action of the fire on the flanks of the ship had been of a much more
+serious character; a long portion of the inside boarding had been
+burned away, and the very ribs of the vessel were considerably damaged;
+the oakum caulkings had all started away from the butt-ends and seams;
+so much so that it was little short of a miracle that the whole ship
+had not long since gaped completely open.
+
+The captain and the carpenter returned to the deck with anxious faces.
+Curtis lost no time in assembling passengers and crew, and announcing
+to them the facts of the case.
+
+"My friends," he said, "I am here to tell you that the Chancellor has
+sustained far greater injuries than we suspected, and that her hull is
+very seriously damaged. If we had been stranded anywhere else than on a
+barren reef, that may at any time be overwhelmed by a tempestuous sea,
+I should not have hesitated to take the ship to pieces, and construct a
+smaller vessel that might have carried us safely to land; but I dare
+not run the risk of remaining here. We are now 800 miles from the coast
+of Paramaribo, the nearest portion of Dutch Guiana, and in ten or
+twelve days, if the weather should be favorable, I believe we could
+reach the shore. What I now propose to do is to stop the leak by the
+best means we can command, and make at once for the nearest port."
+
+As no better plan seemed to suggest itself, Curtis's proposal was
+unanimously accepted. Dowlas and his assistants immediately set to work
+to repair the charred frame-work of the ribs, and to stop the leak;
+they took care thoroughly to calk from the outside all the seams that
+were above low water mark; lower than that they were unable to work,
+and had to content themselves with such repairs as they could effect in
+the interior. But after all the pains there is no doubt the Chancellor
+is not fit for a long voyage, and would be condemned as unseaworthy at
+any port at which we might put in.
+
+To-day the 20th, Curtis having done all that human power could do to
+repair his ship, determined to put her to sea.
+
+Ever since the Chancellor had been relieved of her cargo, and of the
+water in her hold, she had been able to float in the little natural
+basin into which she had been driven. The basin was enclosed on either
+hand by rocks that remained uncovered even at high water, but was
+sufficiently wide to allow the vessel to turn quite round at its
+broadest part, and by means of hawsers fastened on the reef to be
+brought with her bows towards the south; while, to prevent her being
+carried back on to the reef, she has been anchored fore and aft.
+
+To all appearance, then, it seemed as though it would be an easy matter
+to put the Chancellor to sea; if the wind were favorable the sails
+would be hoisted; if otherwise, she would have to be towed through the
+narrow passage. All seemed simple. But unlooked-for difficulties had
+yet to be surmounted.
+
+The mouth of the passage is guarded by a kind of ridge of basalt, which
+at high tide we knew was barely covered with sufficient water to float
+the Chancellor, even when entirely unfreighted. To be sure she had been
+carried over the obstacle once before, but then, as I have already
+said, she had been caught up by an enormous wave, and might have been
+said to be LIFTED over the barrier into her present position. Besides,
+on that ever memorable night, there had not only been the ordinary
+spring-tide, but an equinoctial tide, such a one as could not be
+expected to occur again for many months. Waiting was out of the
+question; so Curtis determined to run the risk, and to take advantage
+of the spring-tide, which would occur to-day, to make an attempt to get
+the ship, lightened as she was, over the bar; after which, he might
+ballast her sufficiently to sail.
+
+The wind was blowing from the northwest, and consequently right in the
+direction of the passage. The captain, however, after a consultation,
+preferred to tow the ship over the ridge, as he considered it was
+scarcely safe to allow a vessel of doubtful stability at full sail to
+charge an obstacle that would probably bring her to a dead lock. Before
+the operation was commenced, Curtis took the precaution of having an
+anchor ready in the stern, for, in the event of the attempt being
+unsuccessful, it would be necessary to bring the ship back to her
+present moorings. Two more anchors were next carried outside the
+passage, which was not more than two hundred feet in length. The chains
+were attached to the windlass, the sailors worked at the hand-spikes,
+and at four o'clock in the afternoon the Chancellor was in motion.
+
+High tide would be at twenty minutes past four, and at ten minutes
+before that time the ship had been hauled as far as her sea-range would
+allow; her keel grazed the ridge, and her progress was arrested. When
+the lowest part of her stern, however, just cleared the obstruction,
+Curtis deemed that there was no longer any reason why the mechanical
+action of the wind should not be brought to bear and contribute its
+assistance. Without delay, all sails were unfurled and trimmed to the
+wind. The tide was exactly at its height, passengers and crew together
+were at the windlass, M. Letourneur, Andre, Falsten, and myself being
+at the starboard bar. Curtis stood upon the poop, giving his chief
+attention to the sails; the lieutenant was on the forecastle; the
+boatswain by the helm. The sea seemed propitiously calm and; as it
+swelled gently to and fro, lifted the ship several times.
+
+"Now, my boys," said Curtis, in his calm clear voice, "all together!
+Off!"
+
+Round went the windlass; click, click, clanked the chains as link by
+link they were forced through the hawse-holes.
+
+The breeze freshened, and the masts gave to the pressure of the sails,
+but round and round we went, keeping time in regular monotony to the
+sing-song tune hummed by one of the sailors.
+
+We had gained about twenty feet, and were redoubling our efforts when
+the ship grounded again.
+
+And now no effort would avail; all was in vain; the tide began to turn:
+and the Chancellor would not advance an inch. Was there time to go
+back? She would inevitably go to pieces if left balanced upon the
+ridge. In an instant the captain has ordered the sails to be furled,
+and the anchor dropped from the stern.
+
+One moment of terrible anxiety, and all is well.
+
+The Chancellor tacks to stern, and glides back into the basin, which is
+once more her prison.
+
+"Well, captain," says the boatswain, "what's to be done now?"
+
+"I don't know," said Curtis, "but we shall get across somehow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE "CHANCELLOR" RELEASED FROM HER PRISON
+
+
+NOVEMBER 21 TO 24.--There was assuredly no time to be lost before we
+ought to leave Ham Rock reef. The barometer had been falling ever since
+the morning, the sea was getting rougher, and there was every symptom
+that the weather, hitherto so favorable, was on the point of breaking;
+and in the event of a gale the Chancellor must inevitably be dashed to
+pieces on the rocks.
+
+In the evening, when the tide was quite low, and the rocks uncovered,
+Curtis, the boatswain, and Dowlas went to examine the ridge which had
+proved so serious an obstruction. Falsten and I accompanied them. We
+came to the conclusion that the only way of effecting a passage was by
+cutting away the rocks with pikes over a surface measuring ten feet by
+six. An extra depth of nine or ten inches would give a sufficient
+gauge, and the channel might be accurately marked out by buoys; in this
+way it was conjectured the ship might be got over the ridge and so
+reach the deep water beyond.
+
+"But this basalt is as hard as granite," said the boatswain; "besides,
+we can only get at it at low water, and consequently could only work at
+it for two hours out of the twenty-four."
+
+"All the more reason why we should begin at once, boatswain," said
+Curtis.
+
+"But if it is to take us a month, captain, perhaps by that time the
+ship may be knocked to atoms. Couldn't we manage to blow up the rock?
+we have got some powder aboard."
+
+"Not enough for that," said the boatswain.
+
+"You have something better than powder," said Falsten.
+
+"What's that?" asked the captain.
+
+"Picrate of potash," was the reply.
+
+And so the explosive substance with which poor Ruby had so grievously
+imperiled the vessel was now to serve her in good stead, and I now saw
+what a lucky thing it was that the case had been deposited safely on
+the reef, instead of being thrown into the sea.
+
+The sailors went off at once for their pikes, and Dowlas and his
+assistants, under the direction of Falsten, who, as an engineer,
+understood such matters, proceeded to hollow out a mine wherein to
+deposit the powder. At first we hoped that everything would be ready
+for the blasting to take place on the following morning, but when
+daylight appeared we found that the men, although they had labored with
+a will, had only been able to work for an hour at low water and that
+four tides must ebb before the mine had been sunk to the required depth.
+
+Not until eight o'clock on the morning of the 23d was the work
+complete. The hole was bored obliquely in the rock, and was large
+enough to contain about ten pounds of explosive matter. Just as the
+picrate was being introduced into the aperture, Falsten interposed:
+
+"Stop," he said, "I think it will be best to mix the picrate with
+common powder, as that will allow us to fire the mine with a match
+instead of the gun-priming which would be necessary to produce a shock.
+Besides, it is an understood thing that the addition of gunpowder
+renders picrate far more effective in blasting such rocks as this, as
+then the violence of the picrate prepares the way for the powder which,
+slower in its action, will complete the disseverment of the basalt."
+
+Falsten is not a great talker, but what he does say is always very much
+to the point. His good advice was immediately followed; the two
+substances were mixed together, and after a match had been introduced
+the compound was rammed closely into the hole.
+
+Notwithstanding that the Chancellor was at a distance from the rocks
+that insured her from any danger of being injured by the explosion, it
+was thought advisable that the passengers and crew should take refuge
+in the grotto at the extremity of the reef, and even Mr. Kear, in spite
+of his many objections, was forced to leave the ship. Falsten, as soon
+as he had set fire to the match, joined us in our retreat.
+
+The train was to burn for ten minutes, and at the end of that time the
+explosion took place; the report, on account of the depth of the mine,
+being muffled, and much less noisy than we had expected. But the
+operation had been perfectly successful. Before we reached the ridge we
+could see that the basalt had been literally reduced to powder, and
+that a little channel, already being filled by the rising tide, had
+been cut right through the obstacle. A loud hurrah rang through the
+air; our prison-doors were opened, and we were prisoners no more.
+
+At high tide the Chancellor weighed anchor and floated out into the
+sea, but she was not in a condition to sail until she had been
+ballasted; and for the next twenty-four hours the crew were busily
+employed in taking up blocks of stone, and such of the bales of cotton
+as had sustained the least amount of injury.
+
+In the course of the day, M. Letourneur, Andre, Miss Herbey, and I took
+a farewell walk round the reef, and Andre, with artistic skill, carved
+on the wall of the grotto the word Chancellor--the designation of Ham
+Rock, which we had given to the reef--and the date of our running
+aground. Then we bade adieu to the scene of our three weeks' sojourn,
+where we had passed days that to some at least of our party will be
+reckoned as far from being the least happy of their lives.
+
+At high tide this morning, the 24th, with low, top, and gallant sails
+all set, the Chancellor started on her onward way, and two hours later
+the last peak of Ham Rock had vanished below the horizon.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+A NEW DANGER
+
+
+NOVEMBER 24 to December 1.--Here we were then once more at sea, and
+although on board a ship of which the stability was very questionable,
+we had hopes, if the wind continued favorable, of reaching the coast of
+Guiana in the course of a few days.
+
+Our way was southwest and consequently with the wind, and although
+Curtis would not crowd on all sail lest the extra speed should have a
+tendency to spring the leak afresh, the Chancellor made a progress that
+was quite satisfactory. Life on board began to fall back into its
+former routine; the feeling of insecurity and the consciousness that we
+were merely retracing our path doing much, however, to destroy the
+animated intercourse that would otherwise go on between passenger and
+passenger.
+
+The first few days passed without any incident worth recording, then on
+the 29th, the wind shifted to the north, and it became necessary to
+brace the yards, trim the sails, and take a starboard tack. This made
+the ship lurch very much on one side, and as Curtis felt that she was
+laboring far too heavily, he clewed up the top-gallants, prudently
+reckoning that, under the circumstances, caution was far more important
+than speed.
+
+The night came on dark and foggy. The breeze freshened considerably,
+and, unfortunately for us, hailed from the northwest. Although we
+carried no topsails at all, the ship seemed to heel over more than
+ever. Most of the passengers had retired to their cabins, but all the
+crew remained on deck, while Curtis never quitted his post upon the
+poop.
+
+Toward two o'clock in the morning I was myself preparing to go to my
+cabin, when Burke, one of the sailors who had been down into the hold,
+came on deck with the cry:
+
+"Two feet of water below."
+
+In an instant Curtis and the boatswain had descended the ladder. The
+startling news was only too true; the sea-water was entering the hold,
+but whether the leak had sprung afresh, or whether the caulking in some
+of the seams was insufficient, it was then impossible to determine; all
+that could be done was to let the ship go with the wind, and wait for
+day.
+
+At daybreak they sounded again--"Three feet of water!" was the report.
+I glanced at Curtis--his lips were white, but he had not lost his
+self-possession. He quietly informed such of the passengers as were
+already on deck of the new danger that threatened us; it was better
+that they should know the worst, and the fact could not be long
+concealed. I told M. Letourneur that I could not help hoping that there
+might yet be time to reach the land before the last crisis came.
+Falsten was about to give vent to an expression of despair, but he was
+soon silenced by Miss Herbey asserting her confidence that all would
+yet be well.
+
+Curtis at once divided the crew into two sets, and made them work
+incessantly, turn and turn about, at the pumps. The men applied
+themselves to their task with resignation rather than with ardor; the
+labor was hard and scarcely repaid them; the pumps were constantly
+getting out of order, the valves being choked up by the ashes and bits
+of cotton that were floating about in the hold, while every moment that
+was spent in cleaning or repairing them was so much time lost.
+
+Slowly but surely the water continued to rise, and on the following
+morning the soundings gave five feet for its depth. I noticed that
+Curtis's brow contracted each time that the boatswain or the lieutenant
+brought him their report. There was no doubt it was only a question of
+time, and not for an instant must the efforts for keeping down the
+level be relaxed. Already the ship had sunk a foot lower in the water,
+and as her weight increased she no longer rose buoyantly with the
+waves, but pitched and rolled considerably.
+
+All yesterday and last night the pumping continued, but still the sea
+gained upon us. The crew are weary and discouraged, but the second
+officer and the boatswain set them a fine example of endurance, and the
+passengers have now begun to take their turn at the pumps.
+
+But all are conscious of toiling almost against hope; we are no longer
+secured firmly to the solid soil of the Ham Rock reef, but we are
+floating over an abyss which daily, nay hourly, threatens to swallow us
+into its depths.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AN ATTEMPT AT MUTINY
+
+
+DECEMBER 2 and 3.--For four hours we have succeeded in keeping the
+water in the hold to one level; now, however, it is very evident that
+the time cannot be far distant when the pumps will be quite unequal to
+their task.
+
+Yesterday Curtis, who does not allow himself a minute's rest, made a
+personal inspection of the hold. I, with the boatswain and carpenter,
+accompanied him. After dislodging some of the bales of cotton we could
+hear a splashing, or rather gurgling sound; but whether the water was
+entering at the original aperture, or whether it found its way in
+through a general dislocation of the seams, we were unable to discover.
+But, whichever might be the case, Curtis determined to try a plan
+which, by cutting off communication between the interior and exterior
+of the vessel, might, if only for a few hours, render her hull more
+water-tight. For this purpose he had some strong, well tarred sails
+drawn upward by ropes from below the keel, as high as the previous
+leaking place, and then fastened closely and securely to the side of
+the hull. The scheme was dubious, and the operation difficult, but for
+a time it was effectual, and at the close of the day the level of the
+water had actually been reduced by several inches. The diminution was
+small enough, but the consciousness that more water was escaping
+through the scupper-holes than was finding its way into the hold gave
+us fresh courage to persevere with our work.
+
+The night was dark, but the captain carried all the sail he could,
+eager to take every possible advantage of the wind, which was
+freshening considerably. If he could have sighted a ship he would have
+made signals of distress, and would not have hesitated to transfer the
+passengers, and even have allowed the crew to follow, if they were
+ready to forsake him; for himself his mind was made up--he should
+remain on board the Chancellor until she foundered beneath his feet. No
+sail, however, hove in sight; consequently escape by such means was out
+of our power.
+
+During the night the canvas covering yielded to the pressure of the
+waves, and this morning, after taking the sounding, the boatswain could
+not suppress an oath when he announced, "Six feet of water in the hold!"
+
+The ship, then, was filling once again, and already had sunk
+considerably below her previous water-line. With aching arms and
+bleeding hands we worked harder than ever at the pumps, and Curtis
+makes those who are not pumping form a line and pass buckets, with all
+the speed they can, from hand to hand.
+
+But all in vain! At half-past eight more water is reported in the hold,
+and some of the sailors, overcome by despair, refuse to work one minute
+longer.
+
+The first to abandon his post was Owen, a man whom I have mentioned
+before as exhibiting something of a mutinous spirit. He is about forty
+years of age, and altogether unprepossessing in appearance; his face is
+bare, with the exception of a reddish beard, which terminates in a
+point; his forehead is furrowed with sinister looking wrinkles, his
+lips curl inward, and his ears protrude, while his bleared and
+bloodshot eyes are encircled with thick red rings.
+
+Among the five or six other men who had struck work I noticed
+Jynxstrop, the cook, who evidently shared all Owen's ill-feelings.
+
+Twice did Curtis order the men back to the pumps, and twice did Owen,
+acting as spokesman for the rest, refuse; and when Curtis made a step
+forward as though to approach him, he said savagely:
+
+"I advise you not to touch me," and walked away to the forecastle.
+
+Curtis descended to his cabin, and almost immediately returned with a
+loaded revolver in his hand.
+
+For a moment Owen surveyed the captain with a frown of defiance; but at
+a sign from Jynxstrop he seemed to recollect himself, and, with the
+remainder of the men, he returned to his work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+CURTIS RESOLVES TO ABANDON THE SHIP
+
+
+DECEMBER 4.--The first attempt at mutiny being thus happily suppressed,
+it is to be hoped that Curtis will succeed as well in future. An
+insubordinate crew would render us powerless indeed.
+
+Throughout the night the pumps were kept, without respite, steadily at
+work, but without producing the least sensible benefit. The ship became
+so water-logged and heavy that she hardly rose at all to the waves,
+which consequently often washed over the deck and contributed their
+part toward aggravating our case. Our situation was rapidly becoming as
+terrible as it had been when the fire was raging in the midst of us;
+and the prospect of being swallowed by the devouring billows was no
+less formidable than that of perishing in the flames.
+
+Curtis kept the men up to the mark, and, willing or unwilling, they had
+no alternative but to work on as best they might; but in spite of all
+their efforts, the water perpetually rose, till, at length, the men in
+the hold who were passing the buckets found themselves immersed up to
+their waists, and were obliged to come on deck.
+
+This morning, after a somewhat protracted consultation with Walter and
+the boatswain, Curtis resolved to abandon the ship. The only remaining
+boat was far too small to hold us all, and it would therefore be
+necessary to construct a raft that should carry those who could not
+find room in her. Dowlas, the carpenter, Mr. Falsten, and ten sailors
+were told off to put the raft in hand, the rest of the crew being
+ordered to continue their work assiduously at the pumps, until the time
+came and everything was ready for embarkation.
+
+Hatchet or saw in hand, the carpenter and his assistants made a
+beginning without delay, by cutting and trimming the spare yards and
+extra spars to a proper length. These were then lowered into the
+sea--which was propitiously calm--so as to favor the operation (which
+otherwise would have been very difficult) of lashing them together into
+a firm framework, about forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide, upon
+which the platform was to be supported.
+
+I kept my own place steadily at the pumps, and Andre Letourneur worked
+at my side. I often noticed his father glance at him sorrowfully, as
+though he wondered what would become of him if he had to struggle with
+waves to which even the strongest man could hardly fail to succumb. But
+come what may, his father will never forsake him, and I myself shall
+not be wanting in rendering him whatever assistance I can.
+
+Mrs. Kear, who had been for some time in a state of drowsy
+unconsciousness, was not informed of the immediate danger; but when
+Miss Herbey, looking somewhat pale with fatigue, paid one of her flying
+visits to the deck, I warned her to take every precaution for herself,
+and to be ready for any emergency.
+
+"Thank you, doctor, I am always ready," she cheerfully replied, and
+returned to her duties below. I saw Andre follow the young girl with
+his eyes, and a look of melancholy interest passed over his countenance.
+
+Toward eight o'clock in the evening the framework for the raft was
+almost complete, and the men were lowering empty barrels, which had
+first been securely bunged, and were lashing them to the woodwork to
+insure its floating.
+
+Two hours later and suddenly there arose the startling cry, "We are
+sinking! we are sinking!"
+
+Up to the poop rushed Mr. Kear, followed immediately by Falsten and
+Miss Herbey, who were bearing the inanimate form of Mrs. Kear. Curtis
+ran to his cabin, instantly returning with a chart, a sextant, and a
+compass in his hand.
+
+The scene that followed will ever be engraven in my memory; the cries
+of distress, the general confusion, the frantic rush of the sailors
+toward the raft that was not yet ready to support them, can never be
+forgotten. The whole period of my life seemed to be concentrated into
+that terrible moment when the planks bent below my feet and the ocean
+yawned beneath me.
+
+Some of the sailors had taken their delusive refuge in the shrouds, and
+I was preparing to follow them when a hand was laid upon my shoulder..
+Turning round I beheld M. Letourneur, with tears in his eyes, pointing
+toward his son. "Yes, my friend," I said, pressing his hand, "we will
+save him, if possible."
+
+But Curtis had already caught hold of the young man, and was hurrying
+him to the main-mast shrouds, when the Chancellor, which had been
+scudding along rapidly with the wind, stopped suddenly, with a violent
+shock, and began to settle. The sea rose over my ankles, and almost
+instinctively I clutched at the nearest rope. All at once, when it
+seemed all over, the ship ceased to sink, and hung motionless in
+mid-ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+WHILE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S HOPE
+
+
+NIGHT of December 4.--Curtis caught young Letourneur again in his arms,
+and, running with him across the flooded deck, deposited him safely in
+the starboard shrouds, whither his father and I climbed up beside him.
+
+I now had time to look about me. The night was not very dark, and I
+could see that Curtis had returned to his post upon the poop; while in
+the extreme aft near the taffrail, which was still above water, I could
+distinguish the forms of Mr. and Mrs. Kear, Miss Herbey, and Mr.
+Falsten. The lieutenant and the boatswain were on the far end of the
+forecastle; the remainder of the crew in the shrouds and top-masts.
+
+By the assistance of his father, who carefully guided his feet up the
+rigging, Andre was hoisted into the main-top. Mrs. Kear could not be
+induced to join him in his elevated position, in spite of being told
+that if the wind were to freshen she would inevitably be washed
+overboard by the waves; nothing could induce her to listen to
+remonstrances, and she insisted upon remaining on the poop--Miss
+Herbey, of course, staying by her side.
+
+As soon as the captain saw the Chancellor was no longer sinking, he set
+to work to take down all the sails--yards and all--and the
+top-gallants, in the hope that by removing everything that could
+compromise the equilibrium of the ship he might diminish the chance of
+her capsizing altogether.
+
+"But may she not founder at any moment?" I said to Curtis, when I had
+joined him for a while upon the poop.
+
+"Everything depends upon the weather," he replied, in his calmest
+manner; "that, of course, may change at any hour. One thing, however,
+is certain, the Chancellor preserves her equilibrium for the present."
+
+"But do you mean to say," I further asked, "that she can sail with two
+feet of water over her deck?"
+
+"No, Mr. Kazallon, she can't sail, but she can drift with the wind; and
+if the wind remains in its present quarter, in the course of a few days
+we might possibly sight the coast. Besides, we shall have our raft as a
+last resource; in a few hours it will be ready, and at daybreak we can
+embark."
+
+"You have not, then," I added, "abandoned all hope even yet?" I
+marveled at his composure.
+
+"While there's life there's hope, you know, Mr. Kazallon; out of a
+hundred chances, ninety-nine may be against us, but perhaps the odd one
+may be in our favor. Besides, I believe that our case is not without
+precedent. In the year 1795, a three-master, the Juno, was precisely in
+the same half-sunk, water-logged condition as ourselves; and yet, with
+her passengers and crew clinging to her top-masts, she drifted for
+twenty days, until she came in sight of land, when those who had
+survived the deprivation and fatigue were saved. So let us not despair;
+let us hold on to the hope that the survivors of the Chancellor may be
+equally fortunate."
+
+I was only too conscious that there was not much to be said in support
+of Curtis's sanguine view of things, and that the force of reason
+pointed all the other way; but I said nothing, deriving what comfort I
+could from the fact that the captain did not yet despond of an ultimate
+rescue.
+
+As it was necessary to be prepared to abandon the ship almost at a
+moment's notice, Dowlas was making every exertion to hurry on the
+construction of the raft. A little before midnight he was on the point
+of conveying some planks for this purpose, when, to his astonishment
+and horror, he found that the framework had totally disappeared. The
+ropes that had attached it to the vessel had snapped as she became
+vertically displaced, and probably it had been adrift for more than an
+hour.
+
+The crew were frantic at this new misfortune, and shouting "Overboard
+with the masts!" they began to cut down the rigging preparatory to
+taking possession of the masts for a new raft.
+
+But here Curtis interposed:
+
+"Back to your places, my men; back to your places. The ship will not
+sink yet, so don't touch a rope until I give you leave."
+
+The firmness of the captain's voice brought the men to their senses,
+and although some of them could ill disguise their reluctance, all
+returned to their posts.
+
+When daylight had sufficiently advanced Curtis mounted the mast, and
+looked around for the missing raft; but it was nowhere to be seen. The
+sea was far too rough for the men to venture to take out the whale-boat
+in search of it, and there was no choice but to set to work and to
+construct a new raft immediately.
+
+Since the sea has become so much rougher, Mrs. Kear has been induced to
+leave the poop, and has managed to join M. Letourneur and his son on
+the main-top, where she lies in a state of complete prostration. I need
+hardly add that Miss Herbey continues in her unwearied attendance. The
+space to which these four people are limited is necessarily very small,
+nowhere measuring twelve feet across: to prevent them losing their
+balance some spars have been lashed from shroud to shroud, and for the
+convenience of the two ladies Curtis has contrived to make a temporary
+awning of a sail. Mr. Kear has installed himself with Silas Huntly on
+the foretop.
+
+A few cases of preserved meat and biscuit and some barrels of water,
+that floated between the masts after the submersion of the deck, have
+been hoisted to the top-mast and fastened firmly to the stays. These
+are now our only provisions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+MR. KEAR MAKES A BUSINESS DEAL
+
+
+DECEMBER 5.--The day was very hot. December in latitude 16 deg. N. is a
+summer month, and unless a breeze should rise to temper the burning
+sun, we might expect to suffer from an oppressive heat.
+
+The sea still remained very rough, and as the heavy waves broke over
+the ship as though she were a reef, the foam flew up to the very
+top-masts, and our clothes were perpetually drenched by the spray.
+
+The Chancellor's hull is three-fourths immerged; besides the three
+masts and the bowsprit, to which the whale-boat was suspended, the poop
+and the forecastle are the only portions that now are visible; and as
+the intervening section of the deck is quite below the water, these
+appear to be connected only by the framework of the netting that runs
+along the vessel's sides. Communication between the top-masts is
+extremely difficult, and would be absolutely precluded, were it not
+that the sailors, with practiced dexterity, manage to hoist themselves
+about by means of the stays. For the passengers, cowering on their
+narrow and unstable platform, the spectacle of the raging sea below was
+truly terrific; every wave that dashed over the ship shook the masts
+till they trembled again, and one could venture scarcely to look or to
+think lest he should be tempted to cast himself into the vast abyss.
+
+Meanwhile, the crew worked away with all their remaining vigor at the
+second raft, for which the top-gallants and yards were all obliged to
+be employed; the planks, too, which were continually being loosened and
+broken away by the violence of the waves from the partitions of the
+ship, were rescued before they had drifted out of reach, and were
+brought into use. The symptoms of the ship foundering did not appear to
+be immediate; so that Curtis insisted upon the raft being made with
+proper care to insure its strength; we were still several hundred miles
+from the coast of Guiana, and for so long a voyage it was indispensable
+to have a structure of considerable solidity. The reasonableness of
+this was self-apparent, and as the crew had recovered their assurance
+they spared no pains to accomplish their work effectually.
+
+Of all the number, there was but one, an Irishman, named O'Ready, who
+seemed to question the utility of all their toil. He shook his head
+with an oracular gravity. He is an oldish man, not less than sixty,
+with his hair and beard bleached with the storms of many travels. As I
+was making my way toward the poop, he came up to me and began talking.
+
+"And why, bedad, I'd like to know, why is it that they'll all be afther
+lavin' the ship?"
+
+He turned his quid with the most serene composure, and continued:
+
+"And isn't it me myself that's been wrecked nine times already? and
+sure, poor fools are they that ever have put their trust in rafts or
+boats; sure and they found a wathery grave. Nay, nay; while the ould
+ship lasts, let's stick to her, says I."
+
+Having thus unburdened his mind he relapsed into silence, and soon went
+away.
+
+About three o'clock I noticed that Mr. Kear and Silas Huntly were
+holding an animated conversation in the foretop. The petroleum merchant
+had evidently some difficulty in bringing the ex-captain round to his
+opinion, for I saw him several times shake his head as he gave long and
+scrutinizing looks at the sea and sky. In less than an hour afterward I
+saw Huntly let himself down by the forestays and clamber along to the
+fore-castle, where he joined the group of sailors, and I lost sight of
+him.
+
+I attached little importance to the incident, and shortly afterward
+joined the party in the main-top, where we continued talking for some
+hours. The heat was intense, and if it had not been for the shelter
+afforded by the sail-tent, would have been unbearable. At five o'clock
+we took as refreshment some dried meat and biscuit, each individual
+being also allowed half a glass of water. Mrs. Kear prostrate with
+fever, could not touch a mouthful; and nothing could be done by Miss
+Herbey to relieve her, beyond occasionally moistening her parched lips.
+The unfortunate lady suffers greatly, and sometimes I am inclined to
+think that she will succumb to the exposure and privation. Not once had
+her husband troubled himself about her; but when shortly afterward I
+heard him hail some of the sailors on the fore-castle and ask them to
+help him down from the foretop, I began to think that the selfish
+fellow was coming to join his wife.
+
+At first the sailors took no notice of his request, but on his
+repeating it with the promise of paying them handsomely for their
+services, two of them, Burke and Sandon, swung themselves along the
+netting into the shrouds, and were soon at his side.
+
+A long discussion ensued. The men evidently were asking more than Mr.
+Kear was inclined to give, and at one time it seemed as though the
+negotiation would fall through altogether. But at length the bargain
+was struck, and I saw Mr. Kear take a bundle of paper dollars from his
+waistcoat pocket, and hand a number of them over to one of the men. The
+man counted them carefully, and from the time it took him, I should
+think that he could not have pocketed anything less than a hundred
+dollars.
+
+The next business was to get Mr. Kear down from the foretop, and Burke
+and Sandon proceeded to tie a rope round his waist, which they
+afterward fastened to the forestay; then, in a way which provoked
+shouts of laughter from their mates, they gave the unfortunate man a
+shove, and sent him rolling down like a bundle of dirty clothes on to
+the forecastle.
+
+I was quite mistaken as to his object. Mr. Kear had no intention of
+looking after his wife, but remained by the side of Silas Huntly until
+the gathering darkness hid them both from view.
+
+As night drew on, the wind grew calmer, but the sea remained very
+rough. The moon had been up ever since four in the afternoon, though
+she only appeared at rare intervals between the clouds. Some long lines
+of vapor on the horizon were tinged with a rosy glare that foreboded a
+strong breeze for the morrow, and all felt anxious to know from which
+quarter the breeze would come, for any but a northeaster would bear the
+frail raft on which we were to embark far away from land.
+
+About eight o'clock in the evening, Curtis mounted to the main-top, but
+he seemed preoccupied and anxious, and did not speak to anyone. He
+remained for a quarter of an hour, then after silently pressing my
+hand, he returned to his old post.
+
+I laid myself down in the narrow space at my disposal, and tried to
+sleep; but my mind was filled with strange forebodings, and sleep was
+impossible. The very calmness of the atmosphere was oppressive;
+scarcely a breath of air vibrated through the metal rigging, and yet
+the sea rose with a heavy swell as though it felt the warnings of a
+coming tempest.
+
+All at once, at about eleven o'clock, the moon burst brightly forth
+through a rift in the clouds, and the waves sparkled again as if
+illuminated by a submarine glimmer. I start up and look around me. Is
+it merely imagination? or do I really see a black speck floating, on
+the dazzling whiteness of the waters, a speck that cannot be a rock,
+because it rises and falls with the heaving motion of the billows? But
+the moon once again becomes overclouded; the sea is darkened, and I
+return to my uneasy couch close to the larboard shrouds.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE WHALE-BOAT MISSING
+
+
+DECEMBER 6.--I must have fallen asleep for a few hours, when, at four
+o'clock in the morning, I was rudely aroused by the roaring of the
+wind, and could distinguish Curtis's voice as he shouted in the brief
+intervals between the heavy gusts.
+
+I got up, and holding tightly to the purlin--for the waves made the
+masts tremble with their violence--I tried to look around and below me.
+The sea was literally raging beneath, and great masses of livid-looking
+foam were dashing between the masts, which were oscillating
+terrifically. It was still dark, and I could only faintly distinguish
+two figures in the stern, whom, by the sound of their voices, that I
+caught occasionally above the tumult, I made out to be Curtis and the
+boatswain.
+
+Just at that moment a sailor, who had mounted to the main-top to do
+something to the rigging, passed close behind me.
+
+"What's the matter?" I asked.
+
+"The wind has changed," he answered, adding something which I could not
+hear distinctly, but which sounded like "dead against us."
+
+Dead against us! then, thought I, the wind had shifted to the
+southwest, and my last night's forebodings had been correct.
+
+When daylight at length appeared, I found the wind, although not
+blowing actually from the southwest, had veered round to the northwest,
+a change which was equally disastrous to us, inasmuch as it was
+carrying us away from land. Moreover, the ship had sunk considerably
+during the night, and there were now five feet of water above deck; the
+side netting had completely disappeared, and the forecastle and the
+poop were now all but on a level with the sea, which washed over them
+incessantly. With all possible expedition Curtis and his crew were
+laboring away at their raft, but the violence of the swell materially
+impeded their operations, and it became a matter of doubt as to whether
+the woodwork would not fall asunder before it could be properly
+fastened together.
+
+As I watched the men at their work, M. Letourneur, with one arm
+supporting his son, came out and stood by my side.
+
+"Don't you think this main-top will soon give way?" he said, as the
+narrow platform on which we stood creaked and groaned with the swaying
+of the masts.
+
+Miss Herbey heard his words and pointing toward Mrs. Kear, who was
+lying prostrate at her feet, asked what we thought ought to be done.
+
+"We can do nothing but stay where we are," I replied.
+
+"No," said Andre, "this is our best refuge; I hope you are not afraid."
+
+"Not for myself," said the young girl quietly, "only for those to whom
+life is precious."
+
+At a quarter to eight we heard the boatswain calling to the sailors in
+the bows.
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," said one of the men--O'Ready, I think.
+
+"Where's the whale-boat?" shouted the boatswain in a loud voice.
+
+"I don't know, sir. Not with us," was the reply.
+
+"She's gone adrift, then!"
+
+And sure enough the whale-boat was no longer hanging from the bowsprit;
+and in a moment the discovery was made that Mr. Kear, Silas Huntly, and
+three sailors,--a Scotchman and two Englishmen,--were missing. Afraid
+that the Chancellor would founder before the completion of the raft,
+Kear and Huntly had plotted together to effect their escape, and had
+bribed the three sailors to seize the only remaining boat.
+
+This, then, was the black speck that I had seen during the night. The
+miserable husband had deserted his wife, the faithless captain had
+abandoned the ship that had once been under his command.
+
+"There are five saved, then," said the boatswain.
+
+"Faith, an it's five lost ye'll be maning," said O'Ready; and the state
+of the sea fully justified his opinion.
+
+The crew were furious when they heard of the surreptitious flight, and
+loaded the fugitives with all the invectives they could lay their
+tongues to. So enraged were they at the dastardly trick of which they
+had been made the dupes, that if chance should bring the deserters
+again on board I should be sorry to answer for the consequences.
+
+In accordance with my advice, Mrs. Kear has not been informed of her
+husband's disappearance. The unhappy lady is wasting away with a fever
+for which we are powerless to supply a remedy, for the medicine-chest
+was lost when the ship began to sink. Nevertheless, I do not think we
+have anything to regret on that score, feeling, as I do, that in a case
+like Mrs. Kear's, drugs would be of no avail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+MRS. KEAR SUCCUMBS TO FEVER
+
+
+DECEMBER 6 continued.--The Chancellor no longer maintained her
+equilibrium; we felt that she was gradually going down, and her hull
+was probably breaking up. The maintop was already only ten feet above
+water, while the bowsprit, with the exception of the extreme end, that
+rose obliquely from the waves, was entirely covered.
+
+The Chancellor's last day, we felt, had come.
+
+Fortunately the raft was all but finished, and unless Curtis preferred
+to wait till morning, we should be able to embark in the evening.
+
+The raft is a very solid structure. The spars that form the framework
+are crossed one above another and lashed together with stout ropes, so
+that the whole pile rises a couple of feet above the water. The upper
+platform is constructed from the planks that were broken from the
+ship's sides by the violence of the waves, and which had not drifted
+away. The afternoon has been employed in charging the raft with such
+provisions, sails, tools, and instruments as we have been able to save.
+
+And how can I attempt to give any idea of the feelings with which, one
+and all, we now contemplated the fate before us? For my own part, I was
+possessed rather by a benumbed indifference than by any sense of
+genuine resignation. M. Letourneur was entirely absorbed in his son,
+who, in his turn, thought only of his father, at the same time
+exhibiting a Christian fortitude, which was shown by no one else of the
+party except Miss Herbey, who faced her danger with the same brave
+composure. Incredible as it may seem, Falsten remained the same as
+ever, occupying himself with writing down figures and memoranda in his
+pocketbook. Mrs. Kear, in spite of all that Miss Herbey could do for
+her, was evidently dying.
+
+With regard to the sailors, two or three of them were calm enough, but
+the rest had well-nigh lost their wits. Some of the more ill-disposed
+among them seemed inclined to run into excesses; and their conduct,
+under the bad influence of Owen and Jynxstrop, made it doubtful whether
+they would submit to control when once we were limited to the narrow
+dimensions of the raft. Lieutenant Walter, although his courage never
+failed him, was worn out with bodily fatigue, and obliged to give up
+all active labor; but Curtis and the boatswain were resolute, energetic
+and firm as ever. To borrow an expression from the language of
+metallurgic art, they were men "at the highest degree of hardness."
+
+At five o'clock one of our companions in misfortune was released from
+her sufferings. Mrs. Kear, after a most distressing illness, through
+which her young companion tended her with the most devoted care, has
+breathed her last. A few deep sighs and all was over, and I doubt
+whether the sufferer was ever conscious of the peril of her situation.
+
+The night passed on without further incident. Toward morning I touched
+the dead woman's hand, and it was cold and stiff. The corpse could not
+remain any longer on the main-top, and after Miss Herbey and I had
+carefully wrapped the garments about it, with a few short prayers the
+body of the first victim of our miseries was committed to the deep.
+
+As the sea closed over the body I heard one of the men in the shrouds
+say:
+
+"There goes a carcass that we shall be sorry we have thrown away!"
+
+I looked round sharply. It was Owen who had spoken. But horrible as
+were his words, the conviction was forced upon my mind that the day
+could not be far distant when we must want for food.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+WE EMBARK ON THE RAFT
+
+
+DECEMBER 7.--The ship was sinking rapidly; the water had risen to the
+fore-top; the poop and forecastle were completely submerged; the top of
+the bowsprit had disappeared, and only the three mast-tops projected
+from the waves.
+
+But all was ready on the raft; an erection had been made on the fore to
+hold a mast, which was supported by shrouds fastened to the sides of
+the platform; this mast carried a large royal.
+
+Perhaps, after all, these few frail planks will carry us to the shore
+which the Chancellor has failed to reach; at any rate, we cannot yet
+resign all hope.
+
+We were just on the point of embarking at 7 A. M. when the Chancellor
+all at once began to sink so rapidly that the carpenter and men who
+were on the raft were obliged with all speed to cut the ropes that
+secured it to the vessel, to prevent it from being swallowed up in the
+eddying waters.
+
+Anxiety, the most intense, took possession of us all. At the very
+moment when the ship was descending into the fathomless abyss, the
+raft, our only hope of safety, was drifting off before our eyes. Two of
+the sailors and an apprentice, beside themselves with terror, threw
+themselves headlong into the sea; but it was evident from the very
+first they were quite powerless to combat the winds and waves. Escape
+was impossible; they could neither reach the raft nor return to the
+ship. Curtis tied a rope round his waist and tried to swim to their
+assistance; but long before he could reach them, the unfortunate men,
+after a vain struggle for life, sank below the waves and were seen no
+more. Curtis, bruised and beaten with the surf that raged about the
+mast-heads, was hauled back to the ship.
+
+Meantime, Dowlas and his men, by means of some spars which they used as
+oars, were exerting themselves to bring back the raft, which had
+drifted about two cables'-lengths away; but, in spite of all their
+efforts, it was fully an hour--an hour which seemed to us, waiting as
+we were with the water up to the level of the top masts, like an
+eternity--before they succeeded in bringing the raft alongside, and
+lashing it once again to the Chancellor's main-mast.
+
+Not a moment was then to be lost. The waves were eddying like a
+whirlpool around the submerged vessel, and numbers of enormous
+air-bubbles were rising to the surface of the water.
+
+The time was come. At Curtis's word, "Embark!" we all hurried to the
+raft. Andre, who insisted upon seeing Miss Herbey go first, was helped
+safely on to the platform, where his father immediately joined him. In
+a very few minutes all except Curtis and old O'Ready had left the
+Chancellor.
+
+Curtis remained standing on the main-top, deeming it not only his duty,
+but his right, to be the last to leave the vessel he had loved so well,
+and the loss of which he so much deplored.
+
+"Now then, old fellow, off of this!" cried the captain to the old
+Irishman, who did not move.
+
+"And is it quite sure ye are that she's sinkin'?" he said.
+
+"Ay, ay! sure enough, my man; and you'd better look sharp."
+
+"Faith, then, and I think I will;" and not a moment too soon (for the
+water was up to his waist) he jumped on to the raft.
+
+Having cast one last, lingering look around him, Curtis then left the
+ship; the rope was cut, and we went slowly adrift.
+
+All eyes were fixed upon the spot where the Chancellor lay foundering.
+The top of the mizzen was the first to disappear, then followed the
+main-top; and soon, of what had been a noble vessel, not a vestige was
+to be seen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+OUR SITUATION CRITICAL
+
+
+WILL this frail boat, forty feet by twenty, bear us in safety? Sink it
+cannot; the material of which it is composed is of a kind that must
+surmount the waves. But it is questionable whether it will hold
+together. The cords that bind it will have a tremendous strain to bear
+in resisting the violence of the sea. The most sanguine among us
+trembles to face the future; the most confident dares to think only of
+the present. After the manifold perils of the last seventy-two days'
+voyage all are too agitated to look forward without dismay to what in
+all human probability must be a time of the direst distress.
+
+Vain as the task may seem, I will not pause in my work of registering
+the events of our drama, as scene after scene they are unfolded before
+our eyes.
+
+Of the twenty-eight persons who left Charleston in the Chancellor, only
+eighteen are left to huddle together upon this narrow raft; this number
+includes the five passengers, namely, M. Letourneur, Andre, Miss
+Herbey, Falsten, and myself; the ship's officers, Captain Curtis,
+Lieutenant Walter, the boatswain, Hobart the steward, Jynxstrop the
+cook, and Dowlas the carpenter; and seven sailors, Austin, Owen,
+Wilson, O'Ready, Burke, Sandon, and Flaypole.
+
+Such are the passengers on the raft; it is but a brief task to
+enumerate their resources.
+
+The greater part of the provisions in the store-room were destroyed at
+the time when the ship's deck was submerged, and the small quantity
+that Curtis has been able to save will be very inadequate to supply the
+wants of eighteen people, who too probably have many days to wait ere
+they sight either land or a passing vessel. One cask of biscuit,
+another of preserved meat, a small keg of brandy, and two barrels of
+water complete our store, so that the utmost frugality in the
+distribution of our daily rations becomes absolutely necessary.
+
+Of spare clothes we have positively none; a few sails will serve for
+shelter by day, and covering by night. Dowlas has his carpenter's
+tools, we have each a pocket-knife, and O'Ready an old tin pot, of
+which he takes the most tender care; in addition to these, we are in
+possession of a sextant, a compass, a chart, and a metal tea-kettle,
+everything else that was placed on deck in readiness for the first raft
+having been lost in the partial submersion of the vessel.
+
+Such then is our situation; critical indeed, but after all perhaps not
+desperate. We have one great fear; some there are among us whose
+courage, moral as well as physical, may give way, and over failing
+spirits such as these we may have no control.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+FIRST DAY ON THE RAFT
+
+
+DECEMBER 7 continued.--Our first day on the raft has passed without any
+special incident. At eight o'clock this morning Curtis asked our
+attention for a moment.
+
+"My friends," he said, "listen to me. Here on this raft, just as when
+we were on board the Chancellor, I consider myself your captain; and as
+your captain, I expect that all of you will strictly obey my orders.
+Let me beg of you, one and all, to think solely of our common welfare;
+let us work with one heart and with one soul, and may Heaven protect
+us!"
+
+After delivering these few words with an emotion that evidenced their
+earnestness, the captain consulted his compass, and found that the
+freshening breeze was blowing from the north. This was fortunate for
+us, and no time was to be lost in taking advantage of it to speed us on
+our dubious way. Dowlas was occupied in fixing the mast into the socket
+that had already been prepared for its reception, and in order to
+support it more firmly he placed spurs of wood, forming arched
+buttresses, on either side. While he was thus employed the boatswain
+and the other seamen were stretching the large royal sail on the yard
+that had been reserved for that purpose.
+
+By half-past nine the mast was hoisted, and held firmly in its place by
+some shrouds attached securely to the sides of the raft; then the sail
+was run up and trimmed to the wind, and the raft began to make a
+perceptible progress under the brisk breeze.
+
+As soon as we had once started, the carpenter set to work to contrive
+some sort of a rudder, that would enable us to maintain our desired
+direction. Curtis and Falsten assisted him with some serviceable
+suggestions, and in a couple of hours' time he had made and fixed to
+the back of the raft a kind of paddle, very similar to those used by
+the Malays.
+
+At noon, after the necessary preliminary observations, Curtis took the
+altitude of the sun. The result gave lat. 15 deg. 7' N. by long. 49
+deg. 35' W. as our position, which, on consulting the chart, proved to
+be about 650 miles northeast of the coast of Paramaribo in Dutch Guiana.
+
+Now even under the most favorable circumstances, with trade-winds and
+weather always in our favor, we can not by any chance hope to make more
+than ten or twelve miles a day, so that the voyage cannot possibly be
+performed under a period of two months. To be sure there is the hope to
+be indulged that we may fall in with a passing vessel, but as the part
+of the Atlantic into which we have been driven is intermediate between
+the tracks of the French and English transatlantic steamers either from
+the Antilles or the Brazils, we cannot reckon at all upon a contingency
+happening in our favor; while if a calm should set in, or worse still,
+if the wind were to blow from the east, not only two months, but twice,
+nay, three times that length of time will be required to accomplish the
+passage.
+
+At best, however, our provisions, even though used with the greatest
+care, will barely last three months. Curtis has called us into
+consultation, and as the working of the raft does not require such
+labor as to exhaust our physical strength, all have agreed to submit to
+a regimen which, although it will suffice to keep us alive, will
+certainly not fully satisfy the cravings of hunger and thirst.
+
+As far as we can estimate we have somewhere about 500 lbs. of meat and
+about the same quantity of biscuit. To make this last for three months
+we ought not to consume very much more than 5 lbs. a day of each,
+which, when divided among eighteen people, will make the daily ration 5
+oz. of meat and 5 oz. of biscuit for each person. Of water we have
+certainly not more than 200 gallons, but by reducing each person's
+allowance to a pint a day, we hope to eke out that, too, over the space
+of three months.
+
+It is arranged that the food shall be distributed under the boatswain's
+superintendence every morning at ten o'clock. Each person will then
+receive his allowance of meat and biscuit, which may be eaten when and
+how he pleases. The water will be given out twice a day--at ten in the
+morning and six in the evening; but as the only drinking-vessels in our
+possession are the teakettle and the old Irishman's tin pot, the water
+has to be consumed immediately on distribution. As for the brandy, of
+which there are only five gallons, it will be doled out with the
+strictest limitation, and no one will be allowed to touch it except
+with the captain's express permission.
+
+I should not forget that there are two sources from which we may hope
+to increase our store. First, any rain that may fall will add to our
+supply of water, and two empty barrels have been placed ready to
+receive it; secondly, we hope to do something in the way of fishing,
+and the sailors have already begun to prepare some lines.
+
+All have mutually agreed to abide by the rules that have been laid
+down, for all are fully aware that by nothing but the most precise
+regimen can we hope to avert the horrors of famine, and forewarned by
+the fate of many who in similar circumstances have miserably perished,
+we are determined to do all that prudence can suggest for husbanding
+our stores.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+WE CATCH A SUPPLY OF FISH
+
+
+DECEMBER 8 to 17.--When night came we wrapped ourselves in our sails.
+For my own part, worn out with the fatigue of the long watch in the
+top-mast, I slept for several hours; M. Letourneur and Andre did the
+same, and Miss Herbey obtained sufficient rest to relieve the tired
+expression that her countenance had lately being wearing. The night
+passed quietly. As the raft was not very heavily laden the waves did
+not break over it at all, and we were consequently able to keep
+ourselves perfectly dry. To say the truth, it was far better for us
+that the sea should remain somewhat boisterous, for any diminution in
+the swell of the waves would indicate that the wind had dropped, and it
+was with a feeling of regret that when the morning came I had to note
+down "weather calm" in my journal.
+
+In these low latitudes the heat in the day-time is so intense, and the
+sun burns with such an incessant glare, that the entire atmosphere
+becomes pervaded with a glowing vapor. The wind, too, blows only in
+fitful gusts, and through long intervals of perfect calm the sails flap
+idly and uselessly against the mast. Curtis and the boatswain, however,
+are of opinion that we are not entirely dependent on the wind. Certain
+indications, which a sailor's eye alone could detect, make them almost
+sure that we are being carried along by a westerly current, that flows
+at the rate of three or four miles an hour. If they are not mistaken,
+this is a circumstance that may materially assist our progress, and at
+which we can hardly fail to rejoice, for the high temperature often
+makes our scanty allowance of water quite inadequate to allay our
+thirst.
+
+But with all our hardships I must confess that our condition is far
+preferable to what it was when we were still clinging to the
+Chancellor. Here at least we have a comparatively solid platform
+beneath our feet, and we are relieved from the incessant dread of being
+carried down with a foundering vessel. In the day time we can move
+about with a certain amount of freedom, discuss the weather, watch the
+sea, and examine our fishing-lines; while at night we can rest securely
+under the shelter of our sails.
+
+"I really think, Mr. Kazallon," said Andre Letourneur to me a few days
+after we had embarked, "that our time on board the raft passes as
+pleasantly as it did upon Ham Rock; and the raft has one advantage even
+over the reef, for it is capable of motion."
+
+"Yes, Andre," I replied, "as long as the wind continues favorable the
+raft has decidedly the advantage; but supposing the wind shifts; what
+then?"
+
+"Oh, we mustn't think about that," he said; "let us keep up our courage
+while we can."
+
+I felt that he was right, and that the dangers we had escaped should
+make us more hopeful for the future; and I think that nearly all of us
+are inclined to share his opinion.
+
+Whether the captain is equally sanguine I am unable to say. He holds
+himself very much aloof, and as he evidently feels that he has the
+great responsibility of saving other lives than his own, we are
+reluctant to disturb his silent meditations.
+
+Such of the crew as are not on watch spend the greater portion of their
+time in dozing on the fore part of the raft. The aft, by the captain's
+orders, has been reserved for the use of us passengers, and by erecting
+some uprights we have contrived to make a sort of tent, which affords
+some shelter from the sun. On the whole our bill of health is tolerably
+satisfactory. Lieutenant Walter is the only invalid, and he, in spite
+of all our careful nursing, seems to get weaker every day.
+
+Andre Letourneur is the life of our party, and I have never appreciated
+the young man so well. His originality of perception makes his
+conversation both lively and interesting, and as he talks, his wan and
+suffering countenance lights up with an intelligent animation. His
+father seems to become more devoted to him than ever, and I have seen
+him sit for an hour at a time, with his hand resting on his son's,
+listening eagerly to his every word.
+
+Miss Herbey occasionally joins in our conversation, but although we all
+do our best to make her forget that she has lost those who should have
+been her natural protectors, M. Letourneur is the only one among us to
+whom she speaks without a certain reserve. To him, whose age gives him
+something of the authority of a father, she has told the history of her
+life--a life of patience and self-denial such as not unfrequently falls
+to the lot of orphans. She had been, she said, two years with Mrs.
+Kear, and although now left alone in the world, homeless and without
+resources, hope for the future does not fail her. The young lady's
+modest deportment and energy of character command the respect of all on
+board, and I do not think that even the coarsest of the sailors has
+either by word or gesture acted toward her in a way that she could deem
+offensive.
+
+The 12th, 13th, and 14th of December passed away without any change in
+our condition. The wind continued to blow in irregular gusts, but
+always in the same direction, and the helm, or rather the paddle at the
+back of the raft, has never once required shifting; and the watch, who
+are posted on the fore, under orders to examine the sea with the most
+scrupulous attention, have had no change of any kind to report.
+
+At the end of the week we found ourselves growing accustomed to our
+limited diet, and as we had no manual exertion, and no wear and tear of
+our physical constitution, we managed very well. Our greatest
+deprivation was the short supply of water, for, as I said before, the
+unmitigated heat made our thirst at times very painful.
+
+On the 15th we held high festival. A shoal of fish, of the sparus
+tribe, swarmed round the raft, and although our tackle consisted merely
+of long cords baited with morsels of dried meat stuck upon bent nails,
+the fish were so voracious that in the course of a couple of days we
+had caught as many as weighed almost 200 lbs., some of which were
+grilled, and others boiled in sea-water over a fire made on the fore
+part of the raft. This marvelous haul was doubly welcome, inasmuch as
+it not only afforded us a change of diet, but enabled us to economize
+our stores; if only some rain had fallen at the same time we would have
+been more than satisfied.
+
+Unfortunately the shoal of fish did not remain long in our vicinity. On
+the 17th they all disappeared, and some sharks, not less than twelve or
+fifteen feet long, belonging to the species of the spotted dog-fish,
+took their place. These horrible creatures have black backs and fins,
+covered with white spots and stripes. Here, on our low raft, we seemed
+almost on a level with them, and more than once their tails have struck
+the spars with terrible violence. The sailors manage to keep them at a
+distance by means of handspikes, but I shall not be surprised if they
+persist in following us, instinctively intelligent that we are destined
+to become their prey. For myself, I confess that they give me a feeling
+of uneasiness; they seem to me like monsters of ill-omen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+MUTINY ON THE RAFT
+
+
+DECEMBER 18 to 20.--On the 18th the wind freshened a little, but as it
+blew from the same favorable quarter we did not complain, and only took
+the precaution of putting an extra support to the mast, so that it
+should not snap with the tension of the sail. This done, the raft was
+carried along with something more than its ordinary speed, and left a
+long line of foam in its wake.
+
+In the afternoon the sky became slightly over-clouded, and the heat
+consequently less oppressive. The swell made it more difficult for the
+raft to keep its balance, and we shipped two or three heavy seas; but
+the carpenter managed to make with some planks a kind of wall about a
+couple of feet high, which protected us from the direct action of the
+waves. Our casks of food and water were secured to the raft with double
+ropes, for we dared not run the risk of their being carried overboard,
+an accident that would at once have reduced us to the direst distress.
+
+In the course of the day the sailors gathered some of the marine plants
+known by the name of sargassos, very similar to those we saw in such
+profusion between the Bermudas and Ham Rock. I advised my companions to
+chew the laminary tangles, which they would find contained a saccharine
+juice, affording considerable relief to their parched lips and throats.
+
+The remainder of the day passed without incident. I should not,
+however, omit to mention that the frequent conferences held among the
+sailors, especially between Owen, Burke, Flaypole, Wilson, and
+Jynxstrop, the negro, aroused some uneasy suspicions in my mind. What
+was the subject of their conversation I could not discover, for they
+became silent immediately that a passenger or one of the officers
+approached them. When I mentioned the matter to Curtis I found he had
+already noticed these secret interviews, and that they had given him
+enough concern to make him determined to keep a strict eye upon
+Jynxstrop and Owen, who, rascals as they were themselves, were
+evidently trying to disaffect their mates.
+
+On the 19th the heat was again excessive. The sky was cloudless, and as
+there was not enough wind to fill the sail the raft lay motionless upon
+the surface of the water. Some of the sailors found a transient
+alleviation for their thirst by plunging into the sea, but as we were
+fully aware that the water all around was infested with sharks, none of
+us was rash enough to follow their example, though if, as seems likely,
+we remain long becalmed, we shall probably in time overcome our fears,
+and feel constrained to indulge ourselves with a bath.
+
+The health of Lieutenant Walter continues to cause us grave anxiety,
+the young man being weakened by attacks of intermittent fever. Except
+for the loss of the medicine-chest we might have temporarily reduced
+this by quinine; but it is only too evident that the poor fellow is
+consumptive, and that that hopeless malady is making ravages upon him
+that no medicine could permanently arrest. His sharp, dry cough, his
+short breathing, his profuse perspirations, more especially in the
+morning; the pinched-in nose, the hollow cheeks, of which the general
+pallor is only relieved by a hectic flush, the contracted lips, the too
+brilliant eye and wasted form--all bear witness to a slow but sure
+decay.
+
+To-day, the 20th, the temperature is as high as ever, and the raft
+still motionless. The rays of the sun penetrate even through the
+shelter of our tent, where we sit literally gasping with the heat. The
+impatience with which we awaited the moment when the boatswain should
+dole out our meager allowance of water, and the eagerness with which
+those lukewarm drops were swallowed, can only be realized by those who
+for themselves have endured the agonies of thirst.
+
+Lieutenant Walter suffers more than any of us from the scarcity of
+water, and I noticed that Miss Herbey reserved almost the whole of her
+own share for his use. Kind and compassionate as ever, the young girl
+does all that lies in her power to relieve the poor fellow's sufferings.
+
+"Mr. Kazallon," she said to me this morning, "that young man gets
+manifestly weaker every day."
+
+"Yes, Miss Herbey," I replied, "and how sorrowful it is that we can do
+nothing for him, absolutely nothing."
+
+"Hush!" she said, with her wonted consideration, "perhaps he will hear
+what we are saying."
+
+And then she sat down near the edge of the raft, where, with her head
+resting on her hands, she remained lost in thought.
+
+An incident sufficiently unpleasant occurred to-day. For nearly an hour
+Owen, Flaypole, Burke and Jynxstrop had been engaged in close
+conversation and, although their voices were low, their gestures had
+betrayed that they were animated by some strong excitement. At the
+conclusion of the colloquy Owen got up and walked deliberately to the
+quarter of the raft that has been reserved for the use of the
+passengers.
+
+"Where are you off to now, Owen?" said the boatswain.
+
+"That's my business," said the man insolently, and pursued his course.
+
+The boatswain was about to stop him, but before he could interfere
+Curtis was standing and looking Owen steadily in the face.
+
+"Ah, captain, I've got a word from my mates to say to you," he said,
+with all the effrontery imaginable.
+
+"Say on, then," said the captain coolly.
+
+"We should like to know about that little keg of brandy. Is it being
+kept for the porpoises or the officers?"
+
+Finding that he obtained no reply, he went on:
+
+"Look here, captain, what we want is to have our grog served out every
+morning as usual."
+
+"Then you certainly will not," said the captain.
+
+"What! what!" exclaimed Owen, "don't you mean to let us have our grog?"
+
+"Once and for all, no."
+
+For a moment, with a malicious grin upon his lips, Owen stood
+confronting the captain; then, as though thinking better of himself, he
+turned round and rejoined his companions, who were still talking
+together in an undertone.
+
+When I was afterward discussing the matter with Curtis, I asked him
+whether he was sure he had done right in refusing the brandy.
+
+"Right!" he cried, "to be sure I have. Allow those men to have brandy!
+I would throw it all overboard first."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+A SQUALL
+
+
+DECEMBER 21.--No further disturbance has taken place among the men. For
+a few hours the fish appeared again, and we caught a great many of
+them, and stored them away in an empty barrel. This addition to our
+stock of provisions makes us hope that food, at least, will not fail us.
+
+Usually the nights in the tropics are cool, but to-day, as the evening
+drew on, the wonted freshness did not return, but the air remained
+stifling and oppressive, while heavy masses of vapor hung over the
+water.
+
+There was no moonlight; there would be a new moon at half-past one in
+the morning, but the night was singularly dark, except for dazzling
+flashes of summer lightning that from time to time illuminated the
+horizon far and wide. There was, however, no answering roll of thunder,
+and the silence of the atmosphere seemed almost awful.
+
+For a couple of hours, in the vain hope of catching a breath of air,
+Miss Herbey, Andre Letourneur, and I, sat watching the imposing
+struggle of the electric vapors. The clouds appeared like embattled
+turrets crested with flame, and the very sailors, coarse-minded men as
+they were, seemed struck with the grandeur of the spectacle, and
+regarded attentively, though with an anxious eye, the preliminary
+tokens of a coming storm. Until midnight we kept our seats upon the
+stern of the raft, while the lightning ever and again shed around us a
+livid glare similar to that produced by adding salt to lighted alcohol.
+
+"Are you afraid of a storm. Miss Herbey?" said Andre to the girl.
+
+"No, Mr. Andre, my feelings are always rather those of awe than of
+fear," she replied. "I consider a storm one of the sublimest phenomena
+that we can behold--don't you think so too?"
+
+"Yes, and especially when the thunder is pealing," he said; "that
+majestic rolling, far different to the sharp crash of artillery, rises
+and falls like the long-drawn notes of the grandest music, and I can
+safely say that the tones of the most accomplished artiste have never
+moved me like that incomparable voice of nature."
+
+"Rather a deep bass, though," I said, laughing.
+
+"That may be," he answered; "but I wish we might hear it now, for this
+silent lightning is somewhat unexpressive."
+
+"Never mind that, Andre," I said; "enjoy a storm when it comes, if you
+like, but pray don't wish for it."
+
+"And why not?" said he; "a storm will bring us wind, you know."
+
+"And water, too," added Miss Herbey, "the water of which we are so
+seriously in need."
+
+The young people evidently wished to regard the storm from their own
+point of view, and although I could have opposed plenty of common sense
+to their poetical sentiments, I said no more, but let them talk on as
+they pleased for fully an hour.
+
+Meanwhile the sky was becoming quite over-clouded, and after the
+zodiacal constellations had disappeared in the mists that hung round
+the horizon, one by one the stars above our heads were veiled in dark
+rolling masses of vapor, from which every instant there issued forth
+sheets of electricity that formed a vivid background to the dark gray
+fragments of cloud that floated beneath.
+
+Sleep, even if we wished it, would have been impossible in that
+stifling temperature.  The lightning increased in brilliancy and
+appeared from all quarters of the horizon, each flash covering large
+arcs, varying from 100 deg. to 150 deg., leaving the atmosphere
+pervaded by one incessant phosphorescent glow.
+
+The thunder became at length more and more distinct, the reports, if I
+may use the expression, being "round," rather than rolling. It seemed
+almost as though the sky were padded with heavy clouds of which the
+elasticity muffled the sound of the electric bursts.
+
+Hitherto, the sea had been calm, almost stagnant as a pond. Now,
+however, long undulations took place, which the sailors recognized, all
+too well, as being the rebound produced by a distant tempest. A ship,
+in such a case, would have been instantly brought ahull, but no
+maneuvering could be applied to our raft, which could only drift before
+the blast.
+
+At one o'clock in the morning one vivid flash, followed, after the
+interval of a few seconds, by a loud report of thunder, announced that
+the storm was rapidly approaching. Suddenly the horizon was enveloped
+in a vaporous fog, and seemed to contract until it was close around us.
+At the same instant the voice of one of the sailors was heard shouting:
+
+"A squall! a squall!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TWO SAILORS WASHED OVERBOARD
+
+
+DECEMBER 21, night.--The boatswain rushed to the halliards that
+supported the sail, and instantly lowered the yard; not a moment too
+soon, for with the speed of an arrow the squall was upon us, and if it
+had not been for the sailor's timely warning we must all have been
+knocked down and probably precipitated into the sea; as it was, our
+tent on the back of the raft was carried away.
+
+The raft itself, however, being so nearly level with the water, had
+little peril to encounter from the actual wind; but from the mighty
+waves now raised by the hurricane we had everything to dread. At first
+the waves had been crushed and flattened as it were by the pressure of
+the air, but now, as though strengthened by the reaction, they rose
+with the utmost fury. The raft followed the motions of the increasing
+swell, and was tossed up and down, to and fro, and from side to side
+with the most violent oscillations.
+
+"Lash yourselves tight," cried the boatswain, as he threw us some
+ropes; and in a few moments with Curtis's assistance, M. Letourneur,
+and Andre, Falsten and myself were fastened so firmly to the raft, that
+nothing but its total disruption could carry us away. Miss Herbey was
+bound by a rope passed round her waist to one of the uprights that had
+supported our tent, and by the glare of the lightning I could see that
+her countenance was as serene and composed as ever.
+
+Then the storm began to rage indeed. Flash followed flash, peal
+followed peal in quick succession. Our eyes were blinded, our ears
+deafened, with the roar and glare. The clouds above, the ocean beneath,
+seemed verily to have taken fire, and several times I saw forked
+lightnings dart upward from the crest of the waves, and mingle with
+those that radiated from the fiery vault above. A strong odor of
+sulphur pervaded the air, but though thunderbolts fell thick around us,
+not one touched our raft.
+
+By two o'clock the storm had reached its height. The hurricane had
+increased, and the heavy waves, heated to a strange heat by the general
+temperature, dashed over us until we were drenched to the skin. Curtis,
+Dowlas, the boatswain, and the sailors did what they could to
+strengthen the raft with additional ropes. M. Letourneur placed himself
+in front of Andre, to shelter him from the waves. Miss Herbey stood
+upright and motionless as a statue.
+
+Soon dense masses of lurid clouds came rolling up, and a crackling,
+like the rattle of musketry, resounded through the air. This was
+produced by a series of electrical concussions, in which volleys of
+hailstones were discharged from the cloud-batteries above. In fact, as
+the storm-sheet came in contact with a current of cold air, hail was
+formed with great rapidity, and hailstones, large as nuts, came pelting
+down, making the platform of the raft re-echo with a metallic ring.
+
+For about half an hour the meteoric shower continued to descend, and
+during that time the wind slightly abated in violence; but after having
+shifted from quarter to quarter, it once more blew with all its former
+fury.  The shrouds were broken, but happily the mast, already bending
+almost double, was removed by the men from its socket before it should
+be snapped short off.. One gust caught away the tiller, which went
+adrift beyond all power of recovery, and the same blast blew down
+several of the planks that formed the low parapet on the larboard side,
+so that the waves dashed in without hindrance through the breach.
+
+The carpenter and his mates tried to repair the damage, but, tossed
+from wave to wave, the raft was inclined to an angle of more than
+forty-five degrees, making it impossible for them to keep their
+footing, and rolling one over another, they were thrown down by the
+violent shocks. Why they were not altogether carried away, why we were
+not all hurled into the sea, was to me a mystery. Even if the cords
+that bound us should retain their hold, it seemed perfectly incredible
+that the raft itself should not be overturned, so that we should be
+carried down and stifled in the seething waters.
+
+At last, toward three in the morning, when the hurricane seemed to be
+raging more fiercely than ever, the raft, caught up on the crest of an
+enormous wave, stood literally perpendicularly on its edge. For an
+instant, by the illumination of the lightning, we beheld ourselves
+raised to an incomprehensible height above the foaming breakers. Cries
+of terror escaped our lips. All must be over now! But no; another
+moment, and the raft had resumed its horizontal position. Safe, indeed,
+we were, but the tremendous upheaval was not without its melancholy
+consequences.
+
+The cords that secured the cases of provisions had burst asunder. One
+case rolled overboard, and the side of one of the water-barrels was
+staved in, so that the water which it contained was rapidly escaping.
+Two of the sailors rushed forward to rescue the case of preserved meat;
+but one of them caught his foot between the planks of the platform,
+and, unable to disengage it, the poor fellow stood uttering cries of
+distress.
+
+I tried to go to his assistance, and had already untied the cord that
+was around me; but I was too late.
+
+Another heavy sea dashed over us, and by the light of a dazzling flash
+I saw the unhappy man, although he had managed without assistance to
+disengage his foot, washed overboard before it was in my power to get
+near him. His companion had also disappeared.
+
+The same ponderous wave laid me prostrate on the platform, and as my
+head came in collision with the corner of a spar, for a time I lost all
+consciousness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+WE LOSE NEARLY ALL OUR PROVISIONS
+
+
+DECEMBER 22.--Daylight came at length, and the sun broke through and
+dispersed the clouds that the storm had left behind. The struggle of
+the elements, while it lasted, had been terrific, but the swoon into
+which I was thrown by my fall prevented me from observing the final
+incidents of the visitation. All that I know is, that shortly after we
+had shipped the heavy sea, that I have mentioned, a shower of rain had
+the effect of calming the severity of the hurricane, and tended to
+diminish the electric tension of the atmosphere.
+
+Thanks to the kind care of M. Letourneur and Miss Herbey, I recovered
+consciousness, but I believe that it is to Robert Curtis that I owe my
+real deliverance, for he it was that prevented me from being carried
+away by a second heavy wave.
+
+The tempest, fierce as it was, did not last more than a few hours; but
+even in that short space of time what an irreparable loss we have
+sustained, and what a load of misery seems stored up for us in the
+future!
+
+Of the two sailors who perished in the storm, one was Austin, a fine
+active young man of about eight-and-twenty; the other was old O'Ready,
+the survivor of so many shipwrecks. Our party is thus reduced to
+sixteen souls, leaving a total barely exceeding half the number of
+those who embarked on board the Chancellor at Charleston.
+
+Curtis's first care had been to take a strict account of the remnant of
+our provisions. Of all the torrents of rain that fell in the night we
+were unhappily unable to catch a single drop; but water will not fail
+us yet, for about fourteen gallons still remain in the bottom of the
+broken barrel, while the second barrel has not been touched. But of
+food we have next to nothing. The cases containing the dried meat, and
+the fish that we had preserved, have both been washed away, and all
+that now remains to us is about sixty pounds of biscuit. Sixty pounds
+of biscuit between sixteen persons! Eight days, with half a pound a day
+apiece, will consume it all.
+
+The day has passed away in silence. A general depression has fallen
+upon all; the specter of famine has appeared among us, and each has
+remained wrapped in his own gloomy meditations, though each has
+doubtless but one idea dominant in his mind.
+
+Once, as I passed near the group of sailors lying on the fore part of
+the raft, I heard Flaypole say with a sneer:
+
+"Those who are going to die had better make haste about it."
+
+"Yes," said Owen, "and leave their share of food to others."
+
+At the regular hour each person received his half-pound of biscuit.
+Some, I noticed, swallowed it ravenously; others reserved it for
+another time. Falsten divided his ration into several portions,
+corresponding, I believe, to the number of meals to which he was
+ordinarily accustomed. What prudence he shows! If any one survives this
+misery, I think it will be he.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+LIEUTENANT WALTER'S CONDITION
+
+
+DECEMBER 23 to 30.--After the storm the wind settled back into its old
+quarter, blowing pretty briskly from the northeast. As the breeze was
+all in our favor it was important to make the most of it, and after
+Dowlas had carefully readjusted the mast, the sail was once more
+hoisted, and we were carried along at the rate of two or two and a half
+knots an hour. A new rudder, formed of a spar and a good-sized plank,
+has been fitted in the place of the one we lost, but with the wind in
+its present quarter it is in little requisition. The platform of the
+raft has been repaired, the disjointed planks have been closed by means
+of ropes and wedges, and that portion of the parapet that was washed
+away has been replaced, so that we are no longer wetted by the waves.
+In fact, nothing has been left undone to insure the solidity of our
+raft, and to render it capable of resisting the wear and tear of the
+wind and waves. But the dangers of wind and waves are not those which
+we have most to dread.
+
+Together with the unclouded sky came a return of the tropical heat,
+which during the preceding days had caused us such serious
+inconvenience; fortunately on the 23d the excessive warmth was somewhat
+tempered by the breeze, and as the tent was once again put up, we were
+able to find shelter under it by turns.
+
+But the want of food was beginning to tell upon us sadly, and our
+sunken cheeks and wasted forms were visible tokens of what we were
+enduring. With most of us hunger seemed to attack the entire nervous
+system, and the constriction of the stomach produced an acute sensation
+of pain. A narcotic, such as opium or tobacco, might have availed to
+soothe, if not to cure, the gnawing agony; but of sedatives we had
+none, so the pain must be endured.
+
+One alone there was among us who did not feel the pangs of hunger.
+Lieutenant Walter seemed as it were to feed upon the fever that raged
+within him; but then he was the victim of the most torturing thirst.
+Miss Herbey, besides reserving for him a portion of her own
+insufficient allowance, obtained from the captain a small extra supply
+of water with which every quarter of an hour she moistened the parched
+lips of the young man, who, almost too weak to speak, could only
+express his thanks by a grateful smile. Poor fellow! all our care
+cannot avail to save him now; he is doomed, most surely doomed to die.
+
+On the 23d he seemed to be conscious of his condition, for he made a
+sign to me to sit down by his side, and then summoning up all his
+strength to speak, he asked me in a few broken words how long I thought
+he had to live?
+
+Slight as my hesitation was, Walter noticed it immediately.
+
+"The truth," he said; "tell me the plain truth."
+
+"My dear fellow, I am not a doctor, you know," I began, "and I can
+scarcely judge--"
+
+"Never mind," he interrupted, "tell me just what you think."
+
+I looked at him attentively for some moments, then laid my ear against
+his chest. In the last few days his malady had made fearfully rapid
+strides, and it was only too evident that one lung had already ceased
+to act, while the other was scarcely capable of performing the work of
+respiration. The young man was now suffering from the fever which is
+the sure symptom of the approaching end in all tuberculous complaints.
+
+The lieutenant kept his eye fixed upon me with a look of eager inquiry.
+I knew not what to say, and sought to evade his question.
+
+"My dear boy," I said, "in our present circumstances not one of us can
+tell how long he has to live. Not one of us knows what may happen in
+the course of the next eight days."
+
+"The next eight days," he murmured, as he looked eagerly into my face.
+
+And then, turning away his head, he seemed to fall into a sort of doze.
+
+The 24th, 25th, and 26th passed without any alteration in our
+circumstances, and strange, nay, incredible as it may sound, we began
+to get accustomed to our condition of starvation. Often, when reading
+the histories of shipwrecks, I have suspected the accounts to be
+greatly exaggerated; but now I fully realize their truth, and marvel
+when I find on how little nutriment it is possible to exist for so long
+a time. To our daily half-pound of biscuit the captain has thought to
+add a few drops of brandy, and the stimulant helps considerably to
+sustain our strength. If we had the same provisions for two months, or
+even for one, there might be room for hope; but our supplies diminish
+rapidly, and the time is fast approaching when of food and drink there
+will be none.
+
+The sea had furnished us with food once, and, difficult as the task of
+fishing had now become, at all hazards the attempt must be made again.
+Accordingly the carpenter and the boatswain set to work and made lines
+out of some untwisted hemp, to which they fixed some nails that they
+pulled out of the flooring of the raft, and bent into proper shape. The
+boatswain regarded his device with evident satisfaction.
+
+"I don't mean to say," said he to me, "that these nails are first-rate
+fish-hooks; but, one thing I do know, and that is, with proper bait
+they will act as well as the best. But this biscuit is no good at all.
+Let me but just get hold of one fish, and I shall know fast enough how
+to use it to catch some more."
+
+And the true difficulty was how to catch the first fish. It was evident
+that fish were not abundant in these waters, nevertheless the lines
+were cast. But the biscuit with which they were baited dissolved at
+once in the water, and we did not get a single bite. For two days the
+attempt was made in vain, and as it only involved what seemed a lavish
+waste of our only means of subsistence, it was given up in despair.
+
+To-day, the 30th, as a last resource, the boatswain tried what a piece
+of colored rag might do by way of attracting some voracious fish, and
+having obtained from Miss Herbey a little piece of the red shawl she
+wears, he fastened it to his hook. But still no success; for when,
+after several hours, he examined his lines, the crimson shred was still
+hanging intact as he had fixed it. The man was quite discouraged at his
+failure.
+
+"But there will be plenty of bait before long," he said to me in a
+solemn undertone.
+
+"What do you mean?" said I, struck by his significant manner.
+
+"You'll know soon enough," he answered.
+
+What did he insinuate? The words, coming from a man usually so
+reserved, have haunted me all night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+MUTINY AGAIN
+
+
+JANUARY 1 to 5.--More than three months had elapsed since we left
+Charleston in the Chancellor, and for no less than twenty days had we
+now been borne along on our raft at the mercy of the wind and waves.
+Whether we were approaching the American coast, or whether we were
+drifting farther and farther to sea, it was now impossible to
+determine, for, in addition to the other disasters caused by the
+hurricane, the captain's instruments had been hopelessly smashed, and
+Curtis had no longer any compass by which to direct his course, nor a
+sextant by which he might make an observation.
+
+Desperate, however, as our condition might be judged, hope did not
+entirely abandon our hearts, and day after day, hour after hour were
+our eyes strained toward the far horizon, and many and many a time did
+our imagination shape out the distant land. But ever and again the
+illusion vanished; a cloud, a mist, perhaps even a wave, was all that
+had deceived us; no land, no sail ever broke the gray line that united
+sea and sky, and our raft remained the center of the wide and dreary
+waste.
+
+On the 1st of January, we swallowed our last morsel of biscuit. The
+first of January! New Year's Day! What a rush of sorrowful
+recollections overwhelmed our minds! Had we not always associated the
+opening of another year with new hopes, new plans, and coming joys? And
+now, where were we? Could we dare to look at one another, and breathe a
+New Year's greeting?
+
+The boatswain approached me with a peculiar look on his countenance.
+
+"You are surely not going to wish me a happy New Year?" I said.
+
+"No indeed, sir," he replied, "I was only going to wish you well
+through the first day of it; and that is pretty good assurance on my
+part, for we have not another crumb to eat."
+
+True as it was, we scarcely realized the fact of there being actually
+nothing until on the following morning the hour came round for the
+distribution of the scanty ration, and then, indeed, the truth was
+forced upon us in a new and startling light. Toward evening I was
+seized with violent pains in the stomach, accompanied by a constant
+desire to yawn and gape that was most distressing; but in a couple of
+hours the extreme agony passed away, and on the 3d I was surprised to
+find that I did not suffer more. I felt, it is true, that there was
+some great void within myself, but the sensation was quite as much
+moral as physical. My head was so heavy that I could not hold it up; it
+was swimming with giddiness, as though I were looking over a precipice.
+
+My symptoms were not shared by all my companions, some of whom endured
+the most frightful tortures. Dowlas and the boatswain especially, who
+were naturally large eaters, uttered involuntary cries of agony, and
+were obliged to gird themselves tightly with ropes to subdue the
+excruciating pain that was gnawing their very vitals.
+
+And this was only the second day of our misery! What would we not have
+given for half, nay, for a quarter of the meager ration which a few
+days back we deemed so inadequate to supply our wants, and which now,
+eked out crumb by crumb, might, perhaps, serve for several days? In the
+streets of a besieged city, dire as the distress may be, some gutter,
+some rubbish-heap, some corner may yet be found that will furnish a dry
+bone or a scrap of refuse that may for a moment allay the pangs of
+hunger; but these bare planks, so many times washed clean by the
+relentless waves, offer nothing to our eager search, and after every
+fragment of food that the wind has carried into the interstices has
+been scraped out and devoured, our resources are literally at an end.
+
+The nights seem even longer than the days. Sleep, when it comes, brings
+no relief; it is rather a feverish stupor, broken and disturbed by
+frightful nightmares. Last night, however, overcome by fatigue, I
+managed to rest for several hours.
+
+At six o'clock this morning I was roused by the sound of angry voices,
+and, starting up, I saw Owen and Jynxstrop, with Flaypole, Wilson,
+Burke, and Sandon, standing in a threatening attitude. They had taken
+possession of the carpenter's tools, and now, armed with hatchets,
+chisels, and hammers, they were preparing to attack the captain, the
+boatswain, and Dowlas. I attached myself in a moment to Curtis's party.
+Falsten followed my example, and although our knives were the only
+weapons at our disposal, we were ready to defend ourselves to the very
+last extremity.
+
+Owen and his men advanced toward us. The miserable wretches were all
+drunk, for during the night they had knocked a hole in the
+brandy-barrel, and had recklessly swallowed its contents. What they
+wanted they scarcely seemed to know, but Owen and Jynxstrop, not quite
+so much intoxicated as the rest, seemed to be urging them on to
+massacre the captain and the officers.
+
+"Down with the captain! Overboard with Curtis! Owen shall take the
+command!" they shouted from time to time in their drunken fury; and,
+armed as they were, they appeared completely masters of the situation.
+
+"Now, then, down with your arms!" said Curtis sternly, as he advanced
+to meet them.
+
+"Overboard with the captain!" howled Owen, as by word and gesture he
+urged on his accomplices.
+
+Curtis pushed aside the excited rascals, and, walking straight up to
+Owen, asked him what he wanted.
+
+"What do we want? Why, we want no more captains; we are all equals now."
+
+Poor stupid fool! as though misery and privation had not already
+reduced us all to the same level.
+
+"Owen," said the captain once again, "down with your arms!"
+
+"Come on, all of you," shouted Owen to his companions, without giving
+the slightest heed to Curtis's words.
+
+A regular struggle ensued. Owen and Wilson attacked Curtis, who
+defended himself with a piece of spar; Burke and Flaypole rushed upon
+Falsten and the boatswain, while I was left to confront the negro
+Jynxstrop, who attempted to strike me with the hammer which he
+brandished in his hand. I endeavored to paralyze his movements by
+pinioning his arms, but the rascal was my superior in muscular
+strength. After wrestling for a few minutes, I felt that he was getting
+the mastery over me, when all of a sudden he rolled over on to the
+platform, dragging me with him. Andre Letourneur had caught hold of one
+of his legs, and thus saved my life. Jynxstrop dropped his weapon in
+his fall; I seized it instantly, and was about to cleave the fellow's
+skull, when I was myself arrested by Andre's hand upon my arm.
+
+By this time the mutineers had been driven back to the forepart of the
+raft, and Curtis, who had managed to parry the blows which had been
+aimed at him, had caught hold of a hatchet, with which he was preparing
+to strike Owen. But Owen made a sidelong movement to avoid the blow,
+and the weapon caught Wilson full in the chest. The unfortunate man
+rolled over the side of the raft and instantly disappeared.
+
+"Save him! save him!" shouted the boatswain.
+
+"It's too late; he's dead!" said Dowlas.
+
+"Ah, well! he'll do for--" began the boatswain; but he did not finish
+his sentence.
+
+Wilson's death, however, put an end to the fray. Flaypole and Burke
+were lying prostrate in a drunken stupor, and Jynxstrop was soon
+overpowered, and lashed tightly to the foot of the mast. The carpenter
+and boatswain seized hold of Owen.
+
+"Now then," said Curtis, as he raised his blood-stained hatchet, "make
+your peace with God, for you have not a moment to live."
+
+"Oh, you want to eat me, do you?" sneered Owen, with the most hardened
+effrontery.
+
+But the audacious reply saved his life; Curtis turned as pale as death,
+the hatchet dropped from his hand, and he went and seated himself
+moodily on the farthest corner of the raft.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+A FATHER'S LOVE
+
+
+JANUARY 5 and 6.--The whole scene made a deep impression on our minds,
+and Owen's speech coming as a sort of climax, brought before us our
+misery with a force that was well-nigh overwhelming.
+
+As soon as I recovered my composure, I did not forget to thank Andre
+Letourneur for the act of intervention that had saved my life.
+
+"Do you thank me for that, Mr. Kazallon?" he said; "it has only served
+to prolong your misery."
+
+"Never mind, M. Letourneur," said Miss Herbey; "you did your duty."
+
+Enfeebled and emaciated as the young girl is, her sense of duty never
+deserts her; and although her torn and bedraggled garments float
+dejectedly about her body, she never utters a word of complaint, and
+never loses courage.
+
+"Mr. Kazallon," she said to me, "do you think we are fated to die of
+hunger?"
+
+"Yes, Miss Herbey, I do," I replied, in a hard, cold tone.
+
+"How long do you suppose we have to live?" she asked again.
+
+"I cannot say; perhaps we shall linger on longer than we imagine."
+
+"The strongest constitutions suffer the most, do they not?" she said.
+
+"Yes; but they have one consolation--they die the soonest," I replied,
+coldly.
+
+Had every spark of humanity died out of my breast, that I thus brought
+the girl face to face with the terrible truth, without a word of hope
+or comfort? The eyes of Andre and his father, dilated with hunger, were
+fixed upon me, and I saw reproach and astonishment written in their
+faces.
+
+Afterward, when we were quite alone, Miss Herbey asked me if I would
+grant her a favor.
+
+"Certainly, Miss Herbey; anything you like to ask," I replied; and this
+time my manner was kinder and more genial.
+
+"Mr. Kazallon," she said, "I am weaker than you, and shall probably die
+first. Promise me that, if I do, you will throw me into the sea!"
+
+"Oh, Miss Herbey," I began, "it was very wrong of me to speak to you as
+I did!"
+
+"No, no," she replied, half smiling; "you were quite right. But it is a
+weakness of mine; I don't mind what they do with me as long as I am
+alive, but when I am dead--" She stopped and shuddered. "Oh, promise me
+that you will throw me into the sea!"
+
+I gave her the melancholy promise, which she acknowledged by pressing
+my hand feebly with her emaciated fingers.
+
+Another night passed away. At times my sufferings were so intense that
+cries of agony involuntarily escaped my lips; then I became calmer, and
+sank into a kind of lethargy. When I awoke, I was surprised to find my
+companions still alive.
+
+The one of our party who seems to bear his privations the best is
+Hobart the steward, a man with whom hitherto I have had very little to
+do. He is small, with a fawning expression remarkable for its
+indecision, and has a smile which is incessantly playing round his
+lips; he goes about with his eyes half closed, as though he wished to
+conceal his thoughts, and there is something altogether false and
+hypocritical about his whole demeanor. I cannot say that he bears his
+privations without a murmur, for he sighs and moans incessantly; but,
+with it all, I cannot but think that there is a want of genuineness in
+his manner, and that the privation has not really told upon him as much
+as it has upon the rest of us. I have my suspicions about the man, and
+intend to watch him carefully.
+
+To-day, the 6th, M. Letourneur drew me aside to the stern of the raft,
+saying he had a secret to communicate, but that he wished neither to be
+seen nor heard speaking to me. I withdrew with him to the larboard
+corner of the raft, and, as it was growing dusk, nobody observed what
+we were doing.
+
+"Mr. Kazallon," M. Letourneur began, in a low voice, "Andre is dying of
+hunger; he is growing weaker and weaker, and oh! I cannot, will not,
+see him die!"
+
+He spoke passionately, almost fiercely, and I fully understood his
+feelings. Taking his hand, I tried to reassure him.
+
+"We will not despair yet," I said; "perhaps some passing ship--"
+
+"Ship!" he cried, impatiently, "don't try to console me with empty
+commonplaces; you know as well as I do that there is no chance of
+falling in with a passing ship." Then, breaking off suddenly, he asked:
+"How long is it since my son and all of you have had anything to eat?"
+
+Astonished at his question, I replied that it was now four days since
+the biscuit had failed.
+
+"Four days," he repeated; "well, then, it is eight since I have tasted
+anything. I have been saving my share for my son."
+
+Tears rushed to my eyes; for a few moments I was unable to speak, and
+could only once more grasp his hand in silence.
+
+"What do you want me to do?" I asked, at length.
+
+"Hush! not so loud; someone will hear us," he said, lowering his voice;
+"I want you to offer it to Andre as though it came from yourself. He
+would not accept it from me; he would think I had been depriving myself
+for him. Let me implore you to do me this service; and for your
+trouble,"--and here he gently stroked my hand--"for your trouble you
+shall have a morsel for yourself."
+
+I trembled like a child as I listened to the poor father's words; and
+my heart was ready to burst when I felt a tiny piece of biscuit slipped
+into my hand.
+
+"Give it him," M. Letourneur went on under his breath, "give it him;
+but do not let anyone see you; the monsters would murder you if they
+knew it! This is only for to-day; I will give you some more to-morrow."
+
+The poor fellow did not trust me--and well he might not--for I had the
+greatest difficulty to withstand the temptation to carry the biscuit to
+my mouth. But I resisted the impulse, and those alone who have suffered
+like me can know what the effort was.
+
+Night came on with the rapidity peculiar to these low latitudes, and I
+glided gently up to Andre, and slipped the piece of biscuit into his
+hand as "a present from myself."
+
+The young man clutched at it eagerly.
+
+"But my father?" he said, inquiringly.
+
+I assured him that his father and I had each had our share, and that he
+must eat this now, and perhaps I should be able to bring him some more
+another time. Andre asked no more questions, and eagerly devoured the
+morsel of food.
+
+So this evening at least, notwithstanding M. Letourneur's offer, I have
+tasted nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+DEATH OF LIEUTENANT WALTER
+
+
+JANUARY 7.--During the last few days, since the wind has freshened, the
+salt water constantly dashing over the raft has terribly punished the
+feet and legs of some of the sailors. Owen, whom the boatswain ever
+since the revolt has kept bound to the mast, is in a deplorable state,
+and, at our request, has been released from his restraint. Sandon and
+Burke are also suffering from the severe smarting caused in this way,
+and it is only owing to our more sheltered position on the aft-part of
+the raft, that we have not all shared the same inconvenience.
+
+To-day the boatswain, maddened by starvation, laid hands upon
+everything that met his voracious eyes, and I could hear the grating of
+his teeth as he gnawed at fragments of sails and bits of wood,
+instinctively endeavoring to fill his stomach by putting the mucus into
+circulation. At length, by dint of an eager search, he came upon a
+piece of leather hanging to one of the spars that supported the
+platform. He snatched it off and devoured it greedily; and, as it was
+animal matter, it really seemed as though the absorption of the
+substance afforded him some temporary relief. Instantly we all followed
+his example; a leather hat, the rims of caps, in short, anything that
+contained any animal matter at all, were gnawed and sucked with the
+utmost avidity. Never shall I forget the scene. We were no longer
+human--the impulses and instincts of brute beasts seemed to actuate our
+every movement.
+
+For a moment the pangs of hunger were somewhat allayed; but some of us
+revolted against the loathsome food, and were seized either with
+violent nausea or absolute sickness. I must be pardoned for giving
+these distressing details; but how otherwise can I depict the misery,
+moral and physical, which we are enduring? And with it all, I dare not
+venture to hope that we have reached the climax of our sufferings.
+
+The conduct of Hobart, during the scene that I have just described, has
+only served to confirm my previous suspicions of him. He took no part
+in the almost fiendish energy with which we gnawed at our scraps of
+leather; and, although by his conduct of perpetual groanings, he might
+be considered to be dying of inanition, yet to me he has the appearance
+of being singularly exempt from the tortures which we are all enduring.
+But whether the hypocrite is being sustained by some secret store of
+food, I have been unable to discover.
+
+Whenever the breeze drops the heat is overpowering; but although our
+allowance of water is very meager, at present the pangs of hunger far
+exceed the pain of thirst. It has often been remarked that extreme
+thirst is far less endurable than extreme hunger. Is it possible that
+still greater agonies are in store for us? I cannot, dare not, believe
+it. Fortunately, the broken barrel still contains a few pints of water,
+and the other one has not yet been opened. But I am glad to say that
+notwithstanding our diminished numbers, and in spite of some
+opposition, the captain has thought right to reduce the daily allowance
+to half a pint for each person. As for the brandy, of which there is
+only a quart now left, it has been stowed away safely in the stern of
+the raft.
+
+This evening has ended the sufferings of another of our companions,
+making our number now only fourteen. My attentions and Miss Herbey's
+nursing could do nothing for Lieutenant Walter, and about half-past
+seven he expired in my arms.
+
+Before he died, in a few broken words, he thanked Miss Herbey and
+myself for the kindness we had shown him. A crumpled letter fell from
+his hand, and in a voice that was scarcely audible from weakness, he
+said:
+
+"It is my mother's letter; the last I had from her--she was expecting
+me home; but she will never see me more. Oh, put it to my lips--let me
+kiss it before I die. Mother! mother! Oh, my God!"
+
+I placed the letter in his cold hand, and raised it to his lips; his
+eye lighted for a moment; we heard the faint sound of a kiss; and all
+was over!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+HUMAN FLESH FOR BAIT
+
+
+JANUARY 8.--All night I remained by the side of the poor fellow's
+corpse, and several times Miss Herbey joined me in my mournful watch.
+
+Before daylight dawned, the body was quite cold, and as I knew there
+must be no delay in throwing it overboard, I asked Curtis to assist me
+in the sad office. The body was frightfully emaciated, and I had every
+hope that it would not float.
+
+As soon as it was quite light, taking every precaution that no one
+should see what we were about, Curtis and I proceeded to our melancholy
+task. We took a few articles from the lieutenant's pockets, which we
+purposed, if either of us should survive, to remit to his mother. But
+as we wrapped him in his tattered garments that would have to suffice
+for his winding sheet, I started back with a thrill of horror. The
+right foot had gone, leaving the leg a bleeding stump.
+
+No doubt that, overcome by fatigue, I must have fallen asleep for an
+interval during the night, and some one had taken advantage of my
+slumber to mutilate the corpse. But who could have been guilty of so
+foul a deed? Curtis looked around with anger flashing in his eye; but
+all seemed as usual, and the silence was only broken by a few groans of
+agony.
+
+But there was no time to be lost; perhaps we were already observed, and
+more horrible scenes might be likely to occur. Curtis said a few short
+prayers, and we cast the body into the sea. It sank immediately.
+
+"They are feeding the sharks well, and no mistake," said a voice behind
+me.
+
+I turned round quickly, and found that it was Jynxstrop who had spoken.
+
+As the boatswain now approached, I asked him whether he thought it
+possible that any of the wretched men could have taken the dead man's
+foot.
+
+"Oh, yes, I dare say," he replied in a significant tone, "and perhaps
+they thought they were right."
+
+"Right! what do you mean?" I exclaimed.
+
+"Well, sir," he said coldly, "isn't it better to eat a dead man than a
+living one?"
+
+I was at a loss to comprehend him, and, turning away, laid myself down
+at the end of the raft.
+
+Toward eleven o'clock a most suspicious incident occurred. The
+boatswain, who had cast his lines early in the morning, caught three
+large cod, each more than thirty inches long, of the species which,
+when dried, is known by the name of stock-fish. Scarcely had he hauled
+them on board when the sailors made a dash at them, and it was with the
+utmost difficulty that Curtis, Falsten and myself could restore order,
+so that we might divide the fish into equal portions. Three cod were
+not much among fourteen starving persons, but, small as the quantity
+was, it was allotted in strictly equal shares. Most of us devoured the
+food raw, almost I might say, alive; only Curtis, Andre, and Miss
+Herbey having the patience to wait until their allowance had been
+boiled at a fire which they made with a few scraps of wood. For myself,
+I confess that I swallowed my portion of fish as it was--raw and
+bleeding. M. Letourneur followed my example; the poor man devoured his
+food like a famished wolf, and it is only a wonder to me how, after his
+lengthened fast, he came to be alive at all.
+
+The boatswain's delight at his success was excessive, and amounted
+almost to delirium. I went up to him, and encouraged him to repeat his
+attempt.
+
+"Oh, yes," he said; "I'll try again. I'll try again."
+
+"And why not try at once?" I asked.
+
+"Not now," he said evasively; "the night is the best time for catching
+large fish. Besides, I must manage to get some bait, for we have been
+improvident enough not to save a single scrap."
+
+"But you have succeeded once without bait; why may you not succeed
+again?"
+
+"Oh, I had some very good bait last night," he said.
+
+I stared at him in amazement. He steadily returned my gaze, but said
+nothing.
+
+"Have you none left?" at last I asked.
+
+"Yes!" he almost whispered, and left me without another word.
+
+Our meal, meager as it had been, served to rally our shattered
+energies; our hopes were slightly raised; there was no reason why the
+boatswain should not have the same good luck again.
+
+One evidence of the degree to which our spirits were revived was that
+our minds were no longer fixed upon the miserable present and hopeless
+future, but we began to recall and discuss the past; and M. Letourneur,
+Andre, Mr. Falsten and I, held a long conversation with the captain
+about the various incidents of our eventful voyage, speaking of our
+lost companions, of the fire, or the stranding of the ship, of our
+sojourn on Ham Rock, of the springing of the leak, of our terrible
+voyage in the top-masts, of the construction of the raft, and of the
+storm. All these things seemed to have happened so long ago, and yet we
+were living still. Living, did I say? Ay, if such an existence as ours
+could be called a life, fourteen of us were living still. Who would be
+the next to go? We should then be thirteen.
+
+"An unlucky number!" said Andre, with a mournful smile.
+
+During the night the boatswain cast his lines from the stern of the
+raft, and, unwilling to trust them to anyone else, remained watching
+them himself. In the morning I went to ascertain what success had
+attended his patience. It was scarcely light, and with eager eyes he
+was peering down into the water. He had neither seen nor heard me
+coming.
+
+"Well, boatswain!" I said, touching him on the shoulder.
+
+He turned round quickly.
+
+"Those villainous sharks have eaten every morsel of my bait," he said,
+in a desponding voice.
+
+"And you have no more left?" I asked.
+
+"No more," he said. Then grasping my arm, he added, "and that only
+shows me that it is no good doing things by halves."
+
+The truth flashed upon me at once, and I laid my hand upon his mouth.
+Poor Walter!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+OXIDE OF COPPER POISONING
+
+
+JANUARY 9 and 10.--On the 9th the wind dropped, and there was a dead
+calm; not a ripple disturbed the surface of the long undulations as
+they rose and fell beneath us; and if it were not for the slight
+current which is carrying us we know not whither, the raft would be
+absolutely stationary.
+
+The heat was intolerable; our thirst more intolerable still; and now it
+was that for the first time I fully realized how the insufficiency of
+drink could cause torture more unendurable than the pangs of hunger.
+Mouth, throat, pharynx, all alike were parched and dry, every gland
+becoming hard as horn under the action of the hot air we breathed. At
+my urgent solicitation, the captain was for once induced to double our
+allowance of water; and this relaxation of the ordinary rule enabled us
+to attempt to slake our thirst four times in the day, instead of only
+twice. I use the word "attempt" advisedly; for the water at the bottom
+of the barrel though kept covered by a sail, became so warm that it was
+perfectly flat and unrefreshing.
+
+It was a most trying day, and the sailors relapsed into a condition of
+deep despondency. The moon was nearly full, but when she rose the
+breeze did not return. Continuance of high temperature in daytime is a
+sure proof that we have been carried far to the south, and here, on
+this illimitable ocean, we have long ceased even to look for land; it
+might almost seem as though this globe of ours had veritably become a
+liquid sphere!
+
+To-day we are still becalmed, and the temperature is as high as ever.
+The air is heated like a furnace, and the sun scorches like fire. The
+torments of famine are all forgotten; our thoughts are concentrated
+with fevered expectation upon the longed-for moment when Curtis shall
+dole out the scanty measure of lukewarm water that makes up our ration.
+Oh for one good draught, even if it should exhaust the whole supply! At
+least, it seems as if we then could die in peace!
+
+About noon we were startled by sharp cries of agony, and looking round,
+I saw Owen writhing in the most horrible convulsions. I went toward
+him, for, detestable as his conduct had been, common humanity prompted
+me to see whether I could afford him any relief. But before I reached
+him, a shout from Flaypole arrested my attention. The man was up in the
+mast, and with great excitement pointing to the east.
+
+"A ship! A ship!" he cried.
+
+In an instant all were on their feet. Even Owen stopped his cries and
+stood erect. It was quite true that in the direction indicated by
+Flaypole there was a white speck visible upon the horizon. But did it
+move? Would the sailors with their keen vision pronounce it to be a
+sail? A silence the most profound fell upon us all. I glanced at Curtis
+as he stood with folded arms intently gazing at the distant point. His
+brow was furrowed, and he contracted every feature, as with half-closed
+eyes he concentrated his power of vision upon that one faint spot in
+the far off horizon.
+
+But at length he dropped his arms and shook his head. I looked again,
+but the spot was no longer there. If it were a ship, that ship had
+disappeared; but probably it had been a mere reflection, or, more
+likely still, only the crest of some curling wave.
+
+A deep dejection followed this phantom ray of hope. All returned to
+their accustomed places. Curtis alone remained motionless, but his eye
+no longer scanned the distant view.
+
+Owen now began to shriek more wildly than ever. He presented truly a
+most melancholy sight; he writhed with the most hideous contortions,
+and had all the appearance of suffering from tetanus. His throat was
+contracted by repeated spasms, his tongue was parched, his body
+swollen, and his pulse, though feeble, was rapid and irregular. The
+poor wretch's symptoms were precisely such as to lead us to suspect
+that he had taken some corrosive poison. Of course it was quite out of
+our power to administer any antidote; all that we could devise was to
+make him swallow something that might act as an emetic. I asked Curtis
+for a little of the lukewarm water. As the contents of the broken
+barrel were now exhausted, the captain, in order to comply with my
+request, was about to tap the other barrel, when Owen started suddenly
+to his knees, and with a wild, unearthly shriek, exclaimed:
+
+"No! no! no! of that water I will not touch a drop."
+
+I supposed he did not understand what we were going to do, and
+endeavored to explain; but all in vain; he persisted in refusing to
+taste the water in the second barrel. I then tried to induce vomiting
+by tickling his uvula, and he brought off some bluish secretion from
+his stomach, the character of which confirmed our previous
+suspicions--that he had been poisoned by oxide of copper. We now felt
+convinced that any effort on our part to save him would be of no avail.
+The vomiting, however, had for the time relieved him, and he was able
+to speak.
+
+Curtis and I both implored him to let us know what he had taken to
+bring about consequences so serious. His reply fell upon us as a
+startling blow.
+
+The ill-fated wretch had stolen several pints of water from the barrel
+that had been untouched, and that water had poisoned him!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+OWEN'S DEATH
+
+
+JANUARY 11 to 14.--Owen's convulsions returned with increased violence,
+and in the course of the night he expired in terrible agony. His body
+was thrown overboard almost directly, it had decomposed so rapidly that
+the flesh had not even consistency enough for any fragments of it to be
+reserved for the boatswain to use to bait his lines. A plague the man
+had been to us in his life; in his death he was now of no service!
+
+And now, perhaps still more than ever, did the horror of our situation
+stare us in the face. There was no doubt that the poisoned barrel had
+at some time or other contained copperas; but what strange fatality had
+converted it into a water cask, or what fatality, stranger still, had
+caused it to be brought on board the raft, was a problem that none
+could solve. Little, however, did it matter now; the fact was
+evident--the barrel was poisoned, and of water we had not a drop.
+
+One and all, we fell into the gloomiest silence. We were too irritable
+to bear the sound of each other's voices; and it did not require a
+word--a mere look or gesture was enough--to provoke us to anger that
+was little short of madness. How it was that we did not all become
+raving maniacs, I cannot tell.
+
+Throughout the 12th no drain of moisture crossed our lips, and not a
+cloud arose to warrant the expectation of a passing shower; in the
+shade, if shade it might be called, the thermometer would have
+registered at least 100 deg., and perhaps considerably more.
+
+No change next day. The salt water began to chafe my legs, but although
+the smarting was at times severe, it was an inconvenience to which I
+gave little heed; others who had suffered from the same trouble had
+become no worse. Oh! if this water that surrounds us could be reduced
+to vapor or to ice! its particles of salt extracted, it would be
+available for drink. But no! we have no appliances, and we must suffer
+on.
+
+At the risk of being devoured by the sharks, the boatswain and two
+sailors took a morning bath, and as their plunge seemed to freshen
+them, I and three of my companions resolved to follow their example. We
+had never learned to swim, and had to be fastened to the end of a rope
+and lowered into the water, while Curtis, during the half hour of our
+bath, kept a sharp lookout to give warning of any danger from
+approaching sharks. No recommendation, however, on our part, nor any
+representation of the benefit we felt we had derived, could induce Miss
+Herbey to allay her sufferings in the same way.
+
+At about eleven o'clock, the captain came up to me, and whispered in my
+ear:
+
+"Don't say a word, Mr. Kazallon; I do not want to raise false hopes,
+but I think I see a ship."
+
+It was as well that the captain had warned me; otherwise, I should have
+raised an involuntary shout of joy; as it was I had the greatest
+difficulty in restraining my expressions of delight.
+
+"Look behind to larboard," he continued in an undertone.
+
+Affecting an indifference which I was far from feeling, I cast an
+anxious glance to that quarter of the horizon of which he spoke, and
+there, although mine was not a nautical eye, I could plainly
+distinguish the outline of a ship under sail.
+
+Almost at the same moment the boatswain who happened to be looking in
+the same direction, raised the cry, "Ship ahoy!"
+
+Whether it was that no one believed it, or whether all energies were
+exhausted, certain it is that the announcement produced none of the
+effects that might have been expected. Not a soul exhibited the
+slightest emotion, and it was only when the boatswain had several times
+sung out his tidings that all eyes turned to the horizon. There, most
+undeniably, was the ship, but the question rose at once to the minds of
+all, and to the lips of many, "Would she see us?"
+
+The sailors immediately began discussing the build of the vessel, and
+made all sorts of conjectures as to the direction she was taking.
+Curtis was far more deliberate in his judgment. After examining her
+attentively for some time, he said, "She is a brig running close upon
+the wind, on the starboard tack. If she keeps her course for a couple
+of hours, she will come right athwart our tracks."
+
+A couple of hours! The words sounded to our ears like a couple of
+centuries. The ship might change her course at any moment; closely
+trimmed as she was, it was very probable that she was only tacking
+about to catch the wind, in which case, as soon as she felt a breeze,
+she would resume her larboard tack and make away again. On the other
+hand, if she was really sailing with the wind, she would come nearer to
+us, and there would be good ground for hope.
+
+Meantime, no exertion must be spared, and no means left untried, to
+make our position known. The brig was about twelve miles to the east of
+us, so that it was out of the question to think of any cries of ours
+being overheard; but Curtis gave directions that every possible signal
+should be made. We had no firearms by which we could attract attention,
+and nothing else occurred to us beyond hoisting a flag of distress.
+Miss Herbey's red shawl, as being of a color most distinguishable
+against the background of sea and sky, was run up to the mast-head, and
+was caught by the light breeze that just then was ruffling the surface
+of the water. As a drowning man clutches at a straw, so our hearts
+bounded with hope every time that our poor flag fluttered in the wind.
+
+For an hour our feelings alternated between hope and despair. The ship
+was evidently making her way in the direction of the raft, but every
+now and then she seemed to stop, and then our hearts would almost stand
+still with agony lest she was going to put about. She carried all her
+canvas, even to her royals and stay-sails, but her hull was only
+partially visible above the horizon.
+
+How slowly she advanced! The breeze was very, very feeble, and perhaps
+soon it would drop altogether! We felt that we would give years of our
+life to know the result of the coming hour.
+
+At half past twelve the captain and the boatswain considered that the
+brig was about nine miles away; she had, therefore, gained only three
+miles in an hour and a half, and it was doubtful whether the light
+breeze that had been passing over our heads had reached her at all. I
+fancied, too, that her sails were no longer filled, but were hanging
+loose against her masts. Turning to the direction of the wind, I tried
+to make out some chance of a rising breeze; but no, the waves were calm
+and torpid, and the little puff of air that had aroused our hopes had
+died away across the sea.
+
+I stood aft with M. Letourneur, Andre and Miss Herbey, and our glances
+perpetually wandered from the distant ship to our captain's face.
+Curtis stood leaning against the mast, with the boatswain by his side;
+their eyes seemed never for a moment to cease to watch the brig, but
+their countenances clearly expressed the varying emotions that passed
+through their minds. Not a word was uttered, nor was the silence
+broken, until the carpenter exclaimed, in accents of despair:
+
+"She's putting about!"
+
+All started up--some to their knees, others to their feet. The
+boatswain dropped a frightful oath. The ship was still nine miles away,
+and at such a distance it was impossible for our signal to be seen; our
+tiny raft, a mere speck upon the waters, would be lost in the intense
+irradiation of the sunbeams. If only we could be seen, no doubt all
+would be well; no captain would have the barbarous inhumanity to leave
+us to our fate; but there had been no chance; only too well we knew
+that we had not been within range of sight.
+
+"My friends," said Curtis, "we must make a fire; it is our last and
+only chance."
+
+Some planks were quickly loosened and thrown into a heap upon the fore
+part of the raft. They were damp and troublesome to light; but the very
+dampness made the smoke more dense, and ere long a tall column of dusky
+fumes was rising straight upward in the air. If darkness should come on
+before the brig was completely out of view, the flames, we hoped might
+still be visible. But the hours passed on; the fire died out; and yet
+no signs of help.
+
+The temper of resignation now deserted me entirely; faith, hope,
+confidence--all vanished from my mind, and, like the boatswain, I swore
+long and loudly. A gentle hand was laid upon my arm, and turning round
+I saw Miss Herbey with her finger pointing to the sky. I could stand it
+no longer, but gliding underneath the tent I hid my face in my hands
+and wept aloud.
+
+Meanwhile the brig had altered her track, and was moving slowly to the
+east. Three hours later and the keenest eye could not have discerned
+her top-sails above the horizon.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR
+
+
+JANUARY 15.--After this further shattering of our excited hopes, death
+alone now stares us in the face; slow and lingering as that death may
+be, sooner or later it must inevitably come.
+
+To-day some clouds that rose in the west have brought us a few puffs of
+wind; and in spite of our prostration, we appreciate the moderation,
+slight as it is, in the temperature. To my parched throat the air
+seemed a little less trying; but it is now seven days since the
+boatswain took his haul of fish, and during that period we had eaten
+nothing; even Andre Letourneur finished yesterday, the last morsel of
+the biscuit which his sorrowful and self-denying father had intrusted
+to my charge.
+
+Jynxstrop, the negro, has broken loose from his confinement, but Curtis
+has taken no measures for putting him again under restraint. It is not
+to be apprehended that the miserable fellow and his accomplices,
+weakened as they are by their protracted fast, will attempt to do us
+any mischief now.
+
+Some huge sharks made their appearance to-day, cleaving the water
+rapidly with their great black fins. The monsters came up close to the
+edge of the raft, and Flaypole, who was leaning over, narrowly escaped
+having his arm snapped off by one of them. I could not help regarding
+them as living sepulchers, which ere long might swallow up our
+miserable carcasses; yet, withal, I profess that my feelings were those
+of fascination rather than horror.
+
+The boatswain, who stood with clenched teeth and dilated eye, regarded
+these sharks from quite another point of view. He thought about
+devouring the sharks, not about the sharks devouring him; and if he
+could succeed in catching one, I doubt if one of us would reject the
+tough and untempting flesh. He determined to make the attempt, and as
+he had no whirl which he could fasten to his rope he set to work to
+find something that might serve as a substitute. Curtis and Dowlas were
+consulted, and after a short conversation, during which they kept
+throwing bits of rope and spars into the water in order to entice the
+sharks to remain by the raft, Dowlas went and fetched his carpenter's
+tool, which is at once a hatchet and a hammer. Of this he proposed to
+make the whirl of which they were in need, under the hope that either
+the sharp edge of the adze or the pointed extremity opposite would
+stick firmly into the jaws of any shark that might swallow it. The
+wooden handle of the hammer was secured to the rope, which, in its turn
+was tightly fastened to the raft.
+
+With eager, almost breathless, excitement we stood watching the
+preparations, at the same time using every means in our power to
+attract the attention of the sharks. As soon as the whirl was ready the
+boatswain began to think about bait, and, talking rapidly to himself,
+ransacked every corner of the raft, as though he expected to find some
+dead body coming opportunely to sight. But his search ended in nothing;
+and the only plan that suggested itself was again to have recourse to
+Miss Herbey's red shawl, of which a fragment was wrapped around the
+head of the hammer. After testing the strength of his line, and
+reassuring himself that it was fastened firmly both to the hammer and
+to the raft, the boatswain lowered it into the water.
+
+The sea was quite transparent, and any object was clearly visible to a
+depth of two hundred feet below the surface. Leaning over the low
+parapet of the raft we looked on in breathless silence, as the scarlet
+rag, distinct as it was against the blue mass of water, made its slow
+descent. But one by one the sharks seemed to disappear. They could not,
+however, have gone far away, and it was not likely that anything in the
+shape of bait dropped near them would long escape their keen voracity.
+
+Suddenly, without speaking, the boatswain raised his hand and pointed
+to a dark mass skimming along the surface of the water, and making
+straight in our direction. It was a shark, certainly not less than
+twelve feet long. As soon as the creature was about four fathoms from
+the raft, the boatswain gently drew in his line until the whirl was in
+such a position that the shark must cross right over it; at the same
+time he shook the line a little, that he might give the whirl the
+appearance, if he could, of being something alive and moving. As the
+creature came near, my heart beat violently; I could see its eyes
+flashing above the waves; and its gaping jaws, as it turned half over
+on its back, exhibited long rows of pointed teeth.
+
+I know not who it was, but some one at that moment uttered an
+involuntary cry of horror. The shark came to a standstill, turned
+about, and escaped quite out of sight. The boatswain was pale with
+anger.
+
+"The first man who speaks," he said, "I will kill him on the spot."
+
+Again he applied himself to his task. The whirl was again lowered, this
+time to the depth of twenty fathoms, but for half an hour or more not a
+shark could be distinguished; but as the waters far below seemed
+somehow to be troubled I could not help believing that some of the
+brutes at least were still there.
+
+All at once, with a violent jerk, the cord was wrested from the
+boatswain's hands; firmly attached, however, as it was to the raft, it
+was not lost. The bait had been seized by a shark, and the iron had
+made good its hold upon the creature's flesh.
+
+"Now, then, my lads," cried the boatswain, "haul away!"
+
+Passengers and sailors, one and all, put forth what strength they had
+to drag the rope, but so violent were the creature's struggles that it
+required all our efforts (and it is needless to say they were willing
+enough) to bring it to the surface. At length, after exertions that
+almost exhausted us, the water became agitated by the violent flappings
+of the tail and fins; and looking down I saw the huge carcass of the
+shark writhing convulsively amid waves that were stained with blood.
+
+"Steady! steady!" said the boatswain, as the head appeared above
+
+The whirl had passed right through the jaw into the middle of the
+throat, so that no struggle on the part of the animal could possibly
+release it. Dowlas seized the hatchet, ready to dispatch the brute the
+moment it should be landed on the raft. A short sharp snap was heard.
+The shark had closed its jaws, and bitten through the wooden handle of
+the hammer. Another moment and it had turned round and was completely
+gone.
+
+A howl of despair burst from all our lips. All the labor and the
+patience, all had been in vain. Dowlas made a few more unsuccessful
+attempts, but as the whirl was lost, and they had no means of replacing
+it, there was no further room for hope. They did, indeed, lower some
+cords twisted into running knots, but (as might have been expected)
+these only slipped over, without holding, the slimy bodies of the
+sharks. As a last resource the boatswain allowed his naked leg to hang
+over the side of the raft; the monsters, however, were proof even
+against this attraction.
+
+Reduced once again to a gloomy despondency, all turned to their places,
+to await the end that can not now be long deferred.
+
+Just as I moved away I heard the boatswain say to Curtis:
+
+"Captain, when shall we draw lots?"
+
+The captain made no reply.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV
+
+OUR THIRST RELIEVED
+
+
+JANUARY 16.--If the crew of any passing vessel had caught sight of us
+as we lay still and inanimate upon our sail-cloth, they would scarcely,
+at first sight, have hesitated to pronounce us dead.
+
+My sufferings were terrible; tongue, lips, and throat were so parched
+and swollen that if food had been at hand I question whether I could
+have swallowed it. So exasperated were the feelings of us all, however,
+that we glanced at each other with looks as savage as though we were
+about to slaughter and without delay eat up one another.
+
+The heat was aggravated by the atmosphere being somewhat stormy. Heavy
+vapors gathered on the horizon, and there was a look as if it were
+raining all around. Longing eyes and gasping mouths turned
+involuntarily toward the clouds, and M. Letourneur, on bended knee, was
+raising his hands, as it might be in supplication to the relentless
+skies.
+
+It was eleven o'clock in the morning. I listened for distant rumblings
+which might announce an approaching storm, but although the vapors had
+obstructed the sun's rays, they no longer presented the appearance of
+being charged with electricity. Thus our prognostications ended in
+disappointment; the clouds, which in the early morning had been marked
+by the distinctness of their outline, had melted one into another and
+assumed an uniform dull gray tint; in fact, we were enveloped in an
+ordinary fog. But was it not still possible that this fog might turn to
+rain?
+
+Happily this hope was destined to be realized; for in a very short
+time, Dowlas, with a shout of delight, declared that rain was actually
+coming; and sure enough, not half a mile from the raft, the dark
+parallel streaks against the sky testified that there at least rain was
+falling. I fancied I could see the drops rebounding from the surface of
+the water. The wind was fresh and bringing the cloud right on toward
+us, yet we could not suppress our trepidation lest it should exhaust
+itself before it reached us.
+
+But no; very soon large heavy drops began to fall, and the storm-cloud,
+passing over our heads, was outpouring its contents upon us. The
+shower, however, was very transient; already a bright streak of light
+along the horizon marked the limit of the cloud and warned us that we
+must be quick to make the most of what it had to give us. Curtis had
+placed the broken barrel in the position that was most exposed, and
+every sail was spread out to the fullest extent our dimensions would
+allow.
+
+We all laid ourselves down flat upon our backs and kept our mouths wide
+open. The rain splashed into my face, wetted my lips, and trickled down
+my throat. Never can I describe the ecstasy with which I imbibed that
+renovating moisture. The parched and swollen glands relaxed, I breathed
+afresh, and my whole being seemed revived with a strange and
+requickened life.
+
+The rain lasted about twenty minutes, when the cloud, only half
+exhausted, passed quite away from over us.
+
+We grasped each other's hands as we rose from the platform on which we
+had been lying, and mutual congratulations, mingled with gratitude,
+poured forth from our long silent lips. Hope, however evanescent it
+might be, for the moment had returned, and we yielded to the
+expectation that, ere long, other and more abundant clouds might come
+and replenish our store.
+
+The next consideration was how to preserve and economize what little
+had been collected by the barrel, or imbibed by the outspread sails. It
+was found that only a few pints of rain-water had fallen into the
+barrel; to this small quantity the sailors were about to add what they
+could by wringing out the saturated sails, when Curtis made them desist
+from their intention.
+
+"Stop, stop!" he said "we must wait a moment; we must see whether this
+water from the sails is drinkable."
+
+I looked at him in amazement. Why should not this be as drinkable as
+the other? He squeezed a few drops out of one of the folds of a sail
+into a tin pot, and put it to his lips. To my surprise, he rejected it
+immediately, and upon tasting it for myself I found it not merely
+brackish, but briny as the sea itself. The fact was that the canvas had
+been so long exposed to the action of the waves, that it had become
+thoroughly impregnated by salt, which of course was taken up again by
+the water that fell upon it. Disappointed we were; but with several
+pints of water in our possession, we were not only contented for the
+present, but sanguine in our prospect for the future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI
+
+MY FAST IS BROKEN
+
+
+JANUARY 17.--As a natural consequence of the alleviation of our thirst,
+the pangs of hunger returned more violently than ever. Although we had
+no bait, and even if we had we could not use it for want of a whirl, we
+could not help asking whether no possible means could be devised for
+securing one out of the many sharks that were still perpetually
+swarming about the raft. Armed with knives, like the Indians in the
+pearl fisheries, was it not practicable to attack the monsters in their
+own element? Curtis expressed his willingness personally to make the
+attempt, but so numerous were the sharks that we would not for one
+moment hear of his risking his life in a venture of which the danger
+was as great as the success was doubtful.
+
+By plunging into the sea, or by gnawing at a piece of metal, we could
+always, or at least often, do something that cheated us into believing
+that we were mitigating the pains of thirst; but with hunger it was
+different. The prospect, too, of rain seemed hopeful, while for getting
+food there appeared no chance; and, as we knew that nothing could
+compensate for the lack of nutritive matter, we were soon all cast down
+again. Shocking to confess, it would be untrue to deny that we surveyed
+each other with the eye of an eager longing; and I need hardly explain
+to what a degree of savageness the one idea that haunted us had reduced
+our feelings.
+
+Ever since the storm-cloud brought us the too transient shower the sky
+has been tolerably clear, and although at that time the wind had
+slightly freshened, it has since dropped, and the sail hangs idly
+against our mast. Except for the trifling relief it brings by modifying
+the temperature, we care little now for any breeze. Ignorant as we are
+as to what quarter of the Atlantic we have been carried by the
+currents, it matters very little to us from what direction the wind may
+blow if only it would bring, in rain or dew, the moisture of which we
+are so dreadfully in need.
+
+My brain is haunted by most horrible nightmares; not that I suppose I
+am in anyway more distressed than my companions, who are lying in their
+usual places, vainly endeavoring to forget their sufferings in sleep.
+
+After a time I fell into a restless, dreamy doze. I was neither asleep
+nor awake. How long I remained in that state of stupor I could hardly
+say, but at length a strange sensation brought me to myself. Was I
+dreaming, or was there not really some unaccustomed odor floating in
+the air? My nostrils became distended, and I could scarcely suppress a
+cry of astonishment; but some instinct kept me quiet, and I laid myself
+down again with the puzzled sensation sometimes experienced when we
+have forgotten a word or name. Only a few minutes, however, had elapsed
+before another still more savory puff induced me to take several long
+inhalations. Suddenly, the truth seemed to flash across my mind.
+"Surely," I muttered to myself, "this must be cooked meat that I can
+smell."
+
+Again and again I sniffed, and became more convinced than ever that my
+senses were not deceiving me. But from what part of the raft could the
+smell proceed? I rose to my knees, and having satisfied myself that the
+odor came from the front, I crept stealthily as a cat under the sails
+and between the spars in that direction. Following the promptings of my
+scent, rather than my vision, like a bloodhound in track of his prey. I
+searched everywhere I could, now finding, now losing, the smell
+according to my change of position, or the dropping of the wind. At
+length I got the true scent, once for all, so that I could go straight
+to the object for which I was in search.
+
+Approaching the starboard angle of the raft, I came to the conclusion
+that the smell that had thus keenly excited my cravings was the smell
+of smoked bacon; the membranes of my tongue almost bristled with the
+intenseness of my longing.
+
+Crawling along a little farther, under a thick roll of sail-cloth, I
+was not long in securing my prize. Forcing my arm below the roll, I
+felt my hand in contact with something wrapped up in paper. I clutched
+it up, and carried it off to a place where I could examine it by the
+help of the light of the moon that had now made its appearance above
+the horizon. I almost shrieked for joy. It was a piece of bacon. True,
+it did not weigh many ounces, but small as it was it would suffice to
+alleviate the pangs of hunger for one day at least. I was just on the
+point of raising it to my mouth, when a hand was laid upon my arm. It
+was only by a most determined effort that I kept myself from screaming
+out. One instant more, and I found myself face to face with Hobart.
+
+In a moment I understood all. Plainly this rascal Hobart had saved some
+provisions from the wreck, upon which he had been subsisting ever
+since. The steward had provided for himself, while all around him were
+dying of starvation. Detestable wretch! This accounts for the
+inconsistency of his well-to-do looks and his pitiable groans. Vile
+hypocrite!
+
+Yet why, it struck me, should I complain? Was not I reaping the benefit
+of that secret store that he, for himself, had saved?
+
+But Hobart had no idea of allowing me the peaceable possession of what
+he held to be his own. He made a dash at the fragment of bacon, and
+seemed determined to wrest it from my grasp. We struggled with each
+other, but although our wrestling was very violent, it was very
+noiseless.
+
+We were both of us aware that it was absolutely necessary that not one
+of those on board should know anything at all about the prize for which
+we were contending. Nor was my own determination lessened by hearing
+him groan out that it was his last, his only morsel. "His!" I thought;
+"it shall be mine now!"
+
+And still careful that no noise of commotion should arise, I threw him
+on his back, and grasping his throat so that he gurgled again, I held
+him down until, in rapid mouthfuls, I had swallowed the last scrap of
+the food for which we had fought so hard.
+
+I released my prisoner, and quietly crept back to my own quarters.
+
+And not a soul is aware that I have broken my fast!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+HOBART HANGS HIMSELF
+
+
+JANUARY 18.--After this excitement I awaited the approach of day with a
+strange anxiety. My conscience told me that Hobart had the right to
+denounce me in the presence of all my fellow-passengers; yet my alarm
+was vain. The idea of my proceedings being exposed by him was quite
+absurd; in a moment he would himself be murdered without pity by the
+crew, if it should be revealed that, unknown to them, he had been
+living on some private store which, by clandestine cunning, he had
+reserved. But, in spite of my anxiety, I had a longing for day to come.
+
+The bit of food that I had thus stolen was very small; but small as it
+was it had alleviated my hunger; and I was now tortured with remorse,
+because I had not shared the meager morsel with my fellow-sufferers.
+Miss Herbey, Andre, his father, all had been forgotten, and from the
+bottom of my heart I repented of my cruel selfishness.
+
+Meantime the moon rose high in the heavens, and the first streaks of
+dawn appeared. There is no twilight in these low latitudes, and the
+full daylight came well nigh at once. I had not closed my eyes since my
+encounter with the steward, and ever since the first blush of day I had
+labored under the impression that I could see some unusual dark mass
+half way up the mast. But although it again and again caught my eye, it
+hardly roused my curiosity, and I did not rise from the bundle of sails
+on which I was lying to ascertain what it really was. But no sooner did
+the rays of the sun fall upon it than I saw at once that it was the
+body of a man, attached to a rope, and swinging to and fro with the
+motion of the raft.
+
+A horrible presentiment carried me to the foot of the mast, and, just
+as I had guessed, Hobart had hanged himself. I could not for a moment
+doubt that it was I myself that had impelled him to the suicide. A cry
+of horror had scarcely escaped my lips, when my fellow-passengers were
+at my side, and the rope was cut. Then came the sailors. And what was
+it that made the group gather so eagerly around the body? Was it a
+humane desire to see whether any sparks of life remained? No, indeed;
+the corpse was cold, and the limbs were rigid; there was no chance that
+animation should be restored. What then was it that kept them lingering
+so close around? It was only too apparent what they were about to do.
+
+But I did not, could not, look. I refused to take part in the horrible
+repast that was proposed. Neither would Miss Herbey, Andre, nor his
+father, consent to alleviate their pangs of hunger by such revolting
+means. I know nothing for certain as to what Curtis did, and I did not
+venture to inquire; but of the others,--Falsten, Dowlas, the boatswain,
+and all the rest,--I know that, to assuage their cravings, they
+consented to reduce themselves to the level of beasts of prey; they
+were transformed from human beings into ravenous brutes.
+
+The four of us who sickened at the idea of partaking of the horrid meal
+withdrew to the seclusion of our tent; it was bad enough to hear,
+without witnessing the appalling operation. But, in truth, I had the
+greatest difficulty in the world in preventing Andre from rushing out
+upon the cannibals, and snatching the odious food from their clutches.
+I represented to him the hopelessness of his attempt, and tried to
+reconcile him by telling him that if they liked the food they had a
+right to it. Hobart had not been murdered; he had died by his own hand;
+and, after all, as the boatswain had once remarked to me, "It was
+better to eat a dead man than a live one."
+
+Do what I would, however, I could not quiet Andre's feeling of
+abhorrence; in his disgust and loathing he seemed for the time to have
+quite forgotten his own sufferings.
+
+Meanwhile, there was no concealing the truth that we were ourselves
+dying of starvation, while our eight companions would probably, by
+their loathsome diet, escape that frightful destiny. Owing to his
+secret hoard of provisions Hobart had been by far the strongest among
+us; he had been supported, so that no organic disease had affected his
+tissues, and really might be said to be in good health when his chagrin
+drove him to his desperate suicide. But what was I thinking of! whither
+were my meditations carrying me away? was it not coming to pass that
+the cannibals were rousing my envy instead of exciting my horror?
+
+Very shortly after this I heard Dowlas talking about the possibility of
+obtaining salt by evaporating seawater in the sun; "and then," he
+added, "we can salt down the rest."
+
+The boatswain assented to what the carpenter had said, and probably the
+suggestion was adopted.
+
+Silence, the most profound, now reigns upon the raft. I presume that
+nearly all have gone to sleep. One thing I do know, that they are no
+longer hungry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+HOBART'S BODY STOLEN
+
+
+JANUARY 19.--All through the day the sky remained unclouded and the
+heat intense; and night came on without bringing much sensible
+moderation in the temperature. I was unable to get any sleep, and,
+toward morning, was disturbed by hearing an angry clamor going on
+outside the tent; it aroused M. Letourneur, Andre, and Miss Herbey, as
+much as myself, and we were anxious to ascertain the cause of the
+tumult.
+
+The boatswain, Dowlas, and all the sailors were storming at each other
+in frightful rage; and Curtis, who had come forward from the stern, was
+endeavoring to pacify them.
+
+"But who has done it? we must know who has done it," said Dowlas,
+scowling with vindictive passion on the group around him.
+
+"There's a thief," howled out the boatswain, "and he shall be found!
+Let's know who has taken it."
+
+"I haven't taken it!" "Nor I! Nor I!" cried the sailors one after
+another.
+
+And then they set to work again to ransack every quarter of the raft;
+they rolled every spar aside, they overturned everything on board, and
+only grew more and more incensed with anger as their search proved
+fruitless.
+
+"Can YOU tell us," said the boatswain, coming up to me, "who is the
+thief?"
+
+"Thief!" I replied. "I don't know what you mean."
+
+And while we were speaking the others all came up together, and told me
+that they had looked everywhere else, and that they were going now to
+search the tent.
+
+"Shame!" I said. "You ought to allow those whom you know to be dying of
+hunger at least to die in peace. There is not one of us who has left
+the tent all night. Why suspect us?"
+
+"Now just look here, Mr. Kazallon," said the boatswain, in a voice
+which he was endeavoring to calm down into moderation, "we are not
+accusing you of anything; we know well enough you, and all the rest of
+you, had a right to your shares as much as anybody; but that isn't it.
+It's all gone somewhere, every bit."
+
+"Yes," said Sandon gruffly; "it's all gone somewheres, and we are going
+to search the tent."
+
+Resistance was useless, and Miss Herbey, M. Letourneur, and Andre were
+all turned out.
+
+I confess I was very fearful. I had a strong suspicion that for the
+sake of his son, for whom he was ready to venture anything, M.
+Letourneur had committed the theft; in that case I knew that nothing
+would have prevented the infuriated men from tearing the devoted father
+to pieces. I beckoned to Curtis for protection, and he came and stood
+beside me. He said nothing, but waited with his hands in his pockets,
+and I think I am not mistaken in my belief that there was some sort of
+a weapon in each.
+
+To my great relief the search was ineffectual. There was no doubt that
+the carcass of the suicide had been thrown overboard, and the rage of
+the disappointed cannibals knew no bounds.
+
+Yet who had ventured to do the deed? I looked at M. Letourneur and Miss
+Herbey; but their countenances at once betrayed their ignorance. Andre
+turned his face away, and his eyes did not meet my own. Probably it is
+he; but, if it be, I wonder whether he has reckoned up the consequences
+of so rash an act.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+THE NEGRO BECOMES INSANE
+
+
+JANUARY 20 to 22.--For the day or two after the horrible repast of the
+18th those who had partaken of it appeared to suffer comparatively
+little either from hunger or thirst; but for the four of us who had
+tasted nothing, the agony of suffering grew more and more intense. It
+was enough to make us repine over the loss of the provision that had so
+mysteriously gone; and if any one of us should die, I doubt whether the
+survivors would a second time resist the temptation to assuage their
+pangs by tasting human flesh.
+
+Before long, all the cravings of hunger began to return to the sailors,
+and I could see their eyes greedily glancing upon us, starved as they
+knew us to be, as though they were reckoning our hours, and already
+were preparing to consume us as their prey.
+
+As is always the case with shipwrecked men, we were tormented by thirst
+far more than by hunger; and if, in the height of our sufferings, we
+had been offered our choice between a few drops of water and a few
+crumbs of biscuit, I do not doubt that we should, without exception,
+have preferred to take the water.
+
+And what a mockery to our condition did it seem that all this while
+there was water, water, nothing but water, everywhere around us! Again
+and again, incapable of comprehending how powerless it was to relieve
+me, I put a few drops within my lips, but only with the invariable
+result of bringing on a most trying nausea, and rendering my thirst
+more unendurable than before.
+
+Forty-two days had passed since we quitted the sinking Chancellor.
+There could be no hope now; all of us must die, and by the most
+deplorable of deaths. I was quite conscious that a mist was gathering
+over my brain; I felt my senses sinking into a condition of torpor; I
+made an effort, but all in vain, to master the delirium that I was
+aware was taking possession of my reason. It is out of my power to
+decide for how long I lost my consciousness; but when I came to myself
+I found that Miss Herbey had folded some wet bandages around my
+forehead. I am somewhat better; but I am weakened, mind and body, and I
+am conscious that I have not long to live.
+
+A frightful fatality occurred to-day. The scene was terrible. Jynxstrop
+the negro went raving mad. Curtis and several of the men tried their
+utmost to control him, but in spite of everything he broke loose, and
+tore up and down the raft, uttering fearful yells. He had gained
+possession of a handspike, and rushed upon us all with the ferocity of
+an infuriated tiger; how we contrived to escape mischief from his
+attacks, I know not. All at once, by one of those unaccountable
+impulses of madness, his rage turned against himself. With his teeth
+and nails he gnawed and tore away at his own flesh; dashing the blood
+into our faces, he shrieked out with a demoniacal grin, "Drink, drink!"
+and flinging us gory morsels, kept saying "Eat, eat!" In the midst of
+his insane shrieks he made a sudden pause, then dashing back again from
+the stern to the front, he made a bound and disappeared beneath the
+waves.
+
+Falsten, Dowlas, and the boatswain, made a rush that at least they
+might secure the body; but it was too late; all that they could see was
+a crimson circle in the water, and some huge sharks disporting
+themselves around the spot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+ALL HOPE GONE
+
+
+JANUARY 23.--Only eleven of us now remain; and the probability is very
+great that every day must now carry off at least its one victim, and
+perhaps more. The end of the tragedy is rapidly approaching, and save
+for the chance, which is next to an impossibility, of our sighting
+land, or being picked up by a passing vessel, ere another week has
+elapsed not a single survivor of the Chancellor will remain.
+
+The wind freshened considerably in the night, and it is now blowing
+pretty briskly from the northeast. It has filled our sail, and the
+white foam in our wake is an indication that we are making some
+progress. The captain reckons that we must be advancing at the rate of
+about three miles an hour.
+
+Curtis and Falsten are certainly in the best condition among us, and in
+spite of their extreme emaciation they bear up wonderfully under the
+protracted hardships we have all endured. Words cannot describe the
+melancholy state to which poor Miss Herbey bodily is reduced; her whole
+being seems absorbed into her soul, but that soul is brave and resolute
+as ever, living in heaven rather than on earth. The boatswain, strong,
+energetic man that he was, has shrunk into a mere shadow of his former
+self, and I doubt whether anyone would recognize him to be the same
+man. He keeps perpetually to one corner of the raft, his head dropped
+upon his chest, and his long, bony hands lying upon knees that project
+sharply from his worn-out trowsers. Unlike Miss Herbey, his spirit
+seems to have sunk into apathy, and it is at times difficult to believe
+that he is living at all, so motionless and statue-like does he sit.
+
+Silence continues to reign upon the raft. Not a sound, not even a
+groan, escapes our lips. We do not exchange ten words in the course of
+the day, and the few syllables that our parched tongues and swollen
+lips can pronounce are almost unintelligible. Wasted and bloodless, we
+are no longer human beings; we are specters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+FLAYPOLE BECOMES DELIRIOUS
+
+
+JANUARY 24.--I have inquired more than once of Curtis if he has the
+faintest idea to what quarter of the Atlantic we have drifted, and each
+time he has been unable to give me a decided answer, though from his
+general observation of the direction of the wind and currents he
+imagines that we have been carried westward, that is to say, toward the
+land.
+
+To-day the breeze has dropped entirely, but the heavy swell is still
+upon the sea, and is an unquestionable sign that a tempest has been
+raging at no great distance. The raft labors hard against the waves,
+and Curtis, Falsten, and the boatswain, employ the little energy that
+remains to them in strengthening the joints. Why do they give
+themselves such trouble? Why not let the few frail planks part asunder,
+and allow the ocean to terminate our miserable existence? Certain it
+seems that our sufferings must have reached their utmost limit, and
+nothing could exceed the torture that we are enduring. The sky pours
+down upon us a heat like that of molten lead, and the sweat that
+saturates the tattered clothes that hang about our bodies goes far to
+aggravate the agonies of our thirst. No words of mine can describe this
+dire distress; these sufferings are beyond human estimate.
+
+Even bathing, the only means of refreshment that we possessed, has now
+become impossible, for ever since Jynxstrop's death the sharks have
+hung about the raft in shoals.
+
+To-day I tried to gain a few drops of fresh water by evaporation, but
+even with the exercise of the greatest patience, it was with the utmost
+difficulty that I obtained enough to moisten a little scrap of linen;
+and the only kettle that we had was so old and battered, that it would
+not bear the fire, so that I was obliged to give up the attempt in
+despair.
+
+Falsten is now almost exhausted, and if he survives us at all, it can
+only be for a few days. Whenever I raised my head I always failed to
+see him, but he was probably lying sheltered somewhere beneath the
+sails. Curtis was the only man who remained on his feet, but with
+indomitable pluck he continued to stand on the front of the raft,
+waiting, watching, hoping. To look at him, with his unflagging energy,
+almost tempted me to imagine that he did well to hope, but I dared not
+entertain one sanguine thought, and there I lay, waiting, nay, longing
+for death.
+
+How many hours passed away thus I cannot tell, but after a time a loud
+peal of laughter burst upon my ear. Someone else, then, was going mad,
+I thought; but the idea did not rouse me in the least. The laughter was
+repeated with greater vehemence, but I never raised my head. Presently
+I caught a few incoherent words.
+
+"Fields, fields, gardens and trees! Look, there's an inn under the
+trees! Quick, quick! brandy, gin, water! a guinea a drop! I'll pay for
+it! I've lots of money! lots! lots!"
+
+Poor deluded wretch! I thought again; the wealth of a nation could not
+buy a drop of water here. There was silence for a minute, when all of a
+sudden I heard the shout of "Land! land!"
+
+The words acted upon me like an electric shock, and, with a frantic
+effort, I started to my feet. No land, indeed, was visible, but
+Flaypole, laughing, singing, and gesticulating, was raging up and down
+the raft. Sight, taste, and hearing--all were gone; but the cerebral
+derangement supplied their place, and in imagination the maniac was
+conversing with absent friends, inviting them into the George Inn at
+Cardiff, offering them gin, whiskey, and, above all, water! Stumbling
+at every step, and singing in a cracked, discordant voice, he staggered
+about among us like an intoxicated man. With the loss of his senses all
+his sufferings had vanished, and his thirst was appeased. It was hard
+not to wish to be a partaker of his hallucination.
+
+Dowlas, Falsten, and the boatswain, seemed to think that the
+unfortunate wretch would, like Jynxstrop, put an end to himself by
+leaping into the sea; but, determined this time to preserve the body,
+that it might serve a better purpose than merely feeding the sharks,
+they rose and followed the madman everywhere he went, keeping a strict
+eye upon his every movement.
+
+But the matter did not end as they expected. As though he were really
+intoxicated by the stimulants of which he had been raving, Flaypole at
+last sank down in a heap in a corner of the raft, where he lay lost in
+a heavy slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII
+
+I DECIDE TO COMMIT SUICIDE
+
+
+JANUARY 25.--Last night was very misty, and for some unaccountable
+reason, one of the hottest that can be imagined. The atmosphere was
+really so stifling, that it seemed as if it only required a spark to
+set it alight. The raft was not only quite stationary, but did not even
+rise and fall with any motion of the waves.
+
+During the night I tried to count how many there were now on board, but
+I was utterly unable to collect my ideas sufficiently to make the
+enumeration. Sometimes I counted ten, sometimes twelve, and although I
+knew that eleven, since Jynxstrop was dead, was the correct number, I
+could never bring my reckoning right. Of one thing I felt quite sure,
+and that was that the number would very soon be ten. I was convinced
+that I could myself last but very little longer. All the events and
+associations of my life passed rapidly through my brain. My country, my
+friends, and my family all appeared as it were in a vision, and seemed
+as though they had come to bid me a last farewell.
+
+Toward morning I woke from my sleep, if the languid stupor into which I
+had fallen was worthy of that name. One fixed idea had taken possession
+of my brain--I would put an end to myself; and I felt a sort of
+pleasure as I gloated over the power that I had to terminate my
+sufferings. I told Curtis, with the utmost composure, of my intention,
+and he received the intelligence as calmly as it was delivered.
+
+"Of course you will do as you please," he said; "for my own part, I
+shall not abandon my post. It is my duty to remain here; and unless
+death comes to carry me away, I shall stay where I am to the very last."
+
+The dull gray fog still hung heavily over the ocean, but the sun was
+evidently shining above the mist, and would, in course of time, dispel
+the vapor. Toward seven o'clock I fancied I heard the cries of birds
+above my head. The sound was repeated three times, and as I went up to
+the captain to ask him about it, I heard him mutter to himself:
+
+"Birds! Why, that looks as if land were not far off."
+
+But although Curtis might still cling to the hope of reaching land, I
+knew not what it was to have one sanguine thought. For me there was
+neither continent nor island; the world was one fluid sphere, uniform,
+monotonous, as in the most primitive period of its formation.
+Nevertheless it must be owned that it was with a certain amount of
+impatience that I awaited the rising of the mist, for I was anxious to
+shake off the phantom fallacies that Curtis's words had suggested to my
+mind.
+
+Not till eleven o'clock did the fog begin to break, and as it rolled in
+heavy folds along the surface of the water, I could every now and then
+catch glimpses of a clear blue sky beyond. Fierce sunbeams pierced the
+cloud-rifts, scorching and burning our bodies like red-hot iron; but it
+was only above our heads that there was any sunlight to condense the
+vapor; the horizon was still quite invisible. There was no wind, and
+for half an hour longer the fog hung heavily round the raft, while
+Curtis, leaning against the side, strove to penetrate the obscurity. At
+length the sun burst forth in full power, and, sweeping the surface of
+the ocean, dispelled the fog and left the horizon open to our eyes.
+
+There, exactly as we had seen it for the last six weeks, was the circle
+that bounded sea and sky--unbroken, definite, distinct as ever! Curtis
+gazed with intensest scrutiny, but did not speak a word. I pitied him
+sincerely, for he alone of us all felt that he had not the right to put
+an end to his misery. For myself, I had fully determined that if I
+lived till the following day, I would die by my own hand. Whether my
+companions were still alive, I hardly cared to know; it seemed as
+though days had passed since I had seen them.
+
+Night drew on, but I could not sleep for a moment. Toward two o'clock
+in the morning my thirst was so intense that I was unable to suppress
+loud cries of agony. Was there nothing that would serve to quench the
+fire that was burning within me? What if, instead of drinking the blood
+of others, I were to drink my own? It would be all unavailing, I was
+well aware; but scarcely had the thought crossed my mind, than I
+proceeded to put it into execution. I unclasped my knife, and,
+stripping my arm, with a steady thrust I opened a small vein. The blood
+oozed out slowly, drop by drop, and as I eagerly swallowed the source
+of my very life, I felt that for a moment my torments were relieved.
+But only for a moment; all energy had failed my pulses, and almost
+immediately the blood had ceased to flow.
+
+How long it seemed before the morning dawned! and when that morning
+came it brought another fog, heavy as before, that again shut out the
+horizon. The fog was hot as the burning steam that issues from a
+boiler. It was to be my last day upon earth, and I felt that I should
+like to press the hand of a friend before I died. Curtis was standing
+near, and crawling up to him, I took his hand in my own. He seemed to
+know that I was taking my farewell, and with one last lingering hope he
+endeavored to restrain me. But all in vain; my mind was finally made up.
+
+I should have liked to speak once again to M. Letourneur, Andre, and
+Miss Herbey, but my courage failed me. I knew that the young girl would
+read my resolution in my eyes, and that she would speak to me of duty,
+and of God, and of eternity, and I dared not meet her gaze; and I would
+not run the risk of being persuaded to wait until a lingering death
+should overtake me. I returned to the back of the raft, and after
+making several efforts, I managed to get on to my feet. I cast one long
+look at the pitiless ocean and the unbroken horizon; if a sail or the
+outline of a coast had broken on my view, I believe that I should only
+have deemed myself the victim of an illusion; but nothing of the kind
+appeared, and the sea was dreary as a desert.
+
+It was ten o'clock in the morning. The pangs of hunger and the torments
+of thirst were racking me with redoubled vigor. All instinct of
+self-preservation had left me, and I felt that the hour had come when I
+must cease to suffer. Just as I was on the point of casting myself
+headlong into the sea, a voice, which I recognized as Dowlas's, broke
+upon my ear.
+
+"Captain," he said, "we are going to draw lots."
+
+Involuntarily I paused; I did not take my plunge, but returned to my
+place upon the raft.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII
+
+WE DECIDE TO DRAW LOTS
+
+
+JANUARY 26.--All heard and understood the proposition; in fact it had
+been in contemplation for several days, but no one had ventured to put
+the idea into words. However, it was done now; lots were to be drawn,
+and to each would be assigned his share of the body of the one ordained
+by fate to be the victim. For my own part, I profess that I was quite
+resigned for the lot to fall upon myself. I thought I heard Andre
+Letourneur beg for an exception to be made in favor of Miss Herbey; but
+the sailors raised a murmur of dissent. As there were eleven of us on
+board, there were ten chances to one in each one's favor--a proportion
+which would be diminished if Miss Herbey were excluded; so that the
+young lady was forced to take her chance among the rest.
+
+It was then half-past ten, and the boatswain, who had been roused from
+his lethargy by what the carpenter had said, insisted that the drawing
+should take place immediately. There was no reason for delaying the
+fatal lottery. There was not one of us that clung in the least to life;
+and we knew that, at the worst, whoever should be doomed to die, would
+only precede the rest by a few days, or even hours. All that we desired
+was just once to slake our raging thirst and moderate our gnawing
+hunger.
+
+How all the names found their way to the bottom of a hat I cannot tell.
+Very likely Falsten wrote them upon a leaf torn from his
+memorandum-book. But be that as it may, the eleven names were there,
+and it was unanimously agreed that the last name drawn should be the
+victim.
+
+But who would draw the names? There was hesitation for a moment; then
+"I will," said a voice behind me. Turning round, I beheld M. Letourneur
+standing with outstretched hand, and with his long white hair falling
+over his thin livid face that was almost sublime in its calmness. I
+divined at once the reason of this voluntary offer; I knew that it was
+the father's devotion in self-sacrifice that led him to undertake the
+office.
+
+"As soon as you please," said the boatswain.
+
+M. Letourneur proceeded to draw out the folded strips of paper, one by
+one, and, after reading out loud the name upon it, handed it to its
+owner.
+
+The first name called was that of Burke, who uttered a cry of delight;
+then followed Flaypole and the boatswain. What his name really was I
+never could exactly learn. Then came Falsten, Curtis, Sandon. More than
+half had now been called, and my name had not yet been drawn. I
+calculated my remaining chance; it was still four to one in my favor.
+
+M. Letourneur continued his painful task. Since Burke's first
+exclamation of joy not a sound had escaped our lips, but all were
+listening in breathless silence. The seventh name was Miss Herbey's,
+but the young girl heard it without a start. Then came mine, yes, mine!
+and the ninth was was that of Letourneur.
+
+"Which one?" asked the boatswain.
+
+"Andre," said M. Letourneur.
+
+With one cry Andre fell back senseless. Only two names now remained in
+the hat--those of Dowlas and M. Letourneur himself.
+
+"Go on!" almost roared the carpenter, surveying his partner in peril as
+though he could devour him. M. Letourneur almost had a smile upon his
+lips, as he drew forth the last paper but one, and with a firm,
+unfaltering voice, marvelous for his age, unfolded it slowly, and read
+the name of Dowlas. The carpenter gave a yell of relief as he heard the
+word.
+
+M. Letourneur took the last bit of paper from the hat, and, without
+looking at it, tore it to pieces. But, unperceived by all but myself,
+one little fragment flew into a corner of the raft. I crawled toward it
+and picked it up. On one side of it was written Andr--; the rest of the
+word was torn away. M. Letourneur saw what I had done, and, rushing
+toward me, snatched the paper from my hands, and flung it into the sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV
+
+MISS HERBEY PLEADS FOR ONE DAY MORE
+
+
+JANUARY 26.--I understood it all; the devoted father having nothing
+more to give, had given his life for his son.
+
+M. Letourneur was no longer a human being in the eyes of the famished
+creatures who were now yearning to see him sacrificed to their
+cravings. At the very sight of the victim thus provided, all the
+tortures of hunger returned with redoubled violence. With lips
+distended, and teeth displayed, they waited like a herd of carnivora
+until they could attack their prey with brutal voracity; it seemed
+almost doubtful whether they would not fall upon him while still alive.
+It seemed impossible that any appeal to their humanity could, at such a
+moment, have any weight; nevertheless, the appeal was made, and,
+incredible as it may seem, prevailed.
+
+Just as the boatswain was about to act the part of butcher, and Dowlas
+stood, hatchet in hand, ready to complete the barbarous work, Miss
+Herbey advanced, or rather crawled, toward them.
+
+"My friends," she pleaded, "will you not wait just one more day? If no
+land or ship is in sight to-morrow, then I suppose our poor companion
+must become your victim. But allow him one more day; in the name of
+mercy I entreat, I implore you."
+
+My heart bounded as she made her pitiful appeal. It seemed to me as
+though the noble girl had spoken with an inspiration on her lips, and I
+fancied that, perhaps, in supernatural vision she had viewed the coast
+or the ship of which she spoke; and one more day was not much to us who
+had already suffered so long, and endured so much.
+
+Curtis and Falsten agreed with me, and we all united to support Miss
+Herbey's merciful petition. The sailors did not utter a murmur, and the
+boatswain in a smothered voice said:
+
+"Very well, we will wait till daybreak to-morrow," and threw down his
+hatchet.
+
+To-morrow, then, unless land or a sail appear, the horrible sacrifice
+will be accomplished. Stifling their sufferings by a strenuous effort,
+all returned to their places. The sailors crouched beneath the sails,
+caring nothing about scanning the ocean. Food was in store for them
+to-morrow, and that was enough for them.
+
+As soon as Andre Letourneur came to his senses, his first thought was
+for his father, and I saw him count the passengers on the raft. He
+looked puzzled; when he lost consciousness there had been only two
+names left in the hat, those of his father and the carpenter; and yet
+M. Letourneur and Dowlas were both there still. Miss Herbey went up to
+him and told him quietly that the drawing of the lots had not yet been
+finished. Andre asked no further question, but took his father's hand.
+M. Letourneur's countenance was calm and serene; he seemed to be
+conscious of nothing except that the life of his son was spared, and as
+the two sat conversing in an undertone at the back of the raft, their
+whole existence seemed bound up in each other.
+
+Meantime, I could not disabuse my mind of the impression caused by Miss
+Herbey's intervention. Something told me that help was near at hand,
+and that we were approaching the termination of our suspense and
+misery; the chimeras that were floating through my brain resolved
+themselves into realities, so that nothing appeared to me more certain
+than that either land or sail, be they miles away, would be discovered
+somewhere to leeward.
+
+I imparted my convictions to M. Letourneur and his son. Andre was as
+sanguine as myself; poor boy! he little thinks what a loss there is in
+store for him to-morrow. His father listened gravely to all we said,
+and whatever he might think in his own mind, he did not give us any
+discouragement; Heaven, he said, he was sure would still spare the
+survivors of the Chancellor, and then he lavished on his son caresses
+which he deemed to be his last.
+
+Some time afterward, when I was alone with him, M. Letourneur whispered
+in my ear:
+
+"Mr. Kazallon, I commend my boy to your care, and mark you, he must
+never know--"
+
+His voice was choked with tears, and he could not finish his sentence.
+
+But I was full of hope, and, without a moment's intermission, I kept my
+eyes fixed upon the unbroken horizon. Curtis, Miss Herbey, Falsten, and
+even the boatswain, were also eagerly scanning the broad expanse of the
+sea.
+
+Night has come on; but I have still a profound conviction that through
+the darkness some ship will approach, and that at daybreak our raft
+will be observed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LV
+
+FRESH WATER
+
+
+JANUARY 27.--I did not close my eyes all night, and was keenly alive to
+the faintest sounds, and every ripple of the water, and every murmur of
+the waves, broke distinctly on my ear. One thing I noticed and accepted
+as a happy omen; not a single shark now lingered round the raft. The
+waning moon rose at a quarter to one, and through the feeble glimmer
+which she cast across the ocean, many and many a time I fancied I
+caught sight of the longed-for sail, lying only a few cables'-lengths
+away.
+
+But when morning came, the sun rose once again upon a desert ocean, and
+my hopes began to fade. Neither ship nor shore had appeared, and as the
+shocking hour of execution drew near, my dreams of deliverance melted
+away; I shuddered in my very soul as I was brought face to face with
+the stern reality. I dared not look upon the victim, and whenever his
+eyes, so full of calmness and resignation, met my own, I turned away my
+head. I felt choked with horror, and my brain reeled as though I were
+intoxicated.
+
+It was now six o'clock, and all hope had vanished from my breast; my
+heart beat rapidly, and a cold sweat of agony broke out all over me.
+Curtis and the boatswain stood by the mast attentively scanning the
+horizon. The boatswain's countenance was terrible to look upon; one
+could see that although he would not forestall the hour, he was
+determined not to wait a moment after it arrived. As for the captain,
+it was impossible to tell what really passed within his mind; his face
+was livid, and his whole existence seemed concentrated in the exercise
+of his power of vision. The sailors were crawling about the platform,
+with their eyes gleaming, like the wild beasts ready to pounce upon
+their devoted prey.
+
+I could no longer keep my place, and glided along to the front of the
+raft. The boatswain was still standing intent on his watch, but all of
+a sudden, in a voice that made me start, he shouted:
+
+"Now then, time's up!" and followed by Dowlas, Burke, Flaypole, and
+Sandon, ran to the back of the raft.   As Dowlas seized the hatchet
+convulsively, Miss Herbey could not suppress a cry of terror. Andre
+started to his feet.
+
+"What are you going to do to my father?" he asked in accents choked
+with emotion.
+
+"My boy," said M. Letourneur, "the lot has fallen upon me, and I must
+die!"
+
+"Never!" shrieked Andre, throwing his arms about his father. "They
+shall kill me first. It was I who threw Hobart's body into the sea, and
+it is I who ought to die!" But the words of the unhappy youth had no
+other effect than to increase the fury of the men who were so stanchly
+bent upon their bloody purpose.
+
+"Come, come, no more fuss," said Dowlas, as he tore the young man away
+from his father's embrace.
+
+Andre fell upon his back, in which position two of the sailors held him
+down so tightly that he could not move, while Burke and Sandon carried
+off their victim to the front.
+
+All this had taken place much more rapidly than I have been able to
+describe it. I was transfixed with horror, and much as I wished to
+throw myself between M. Letourneur and his executioners, I seemed to be
+rooted to the spot where I was standing.
+
+Meantime the sailors had been taking off some of M. Letourneur's
+clothes, and his neck and shoulders were already bare.
+
+"Stop a moment!" he said in a tone in which was the ring of indomitable
+courage. "Stop! I don't want to deprive you of your ration; but I
+suppose you will not require to eat the whole of me to-day."
+
+The sailors, taken back by his suggestion, stared at him with amazement.
+
+"There are ten of you," he went on. "My two arms will give you each a
+meal; cut them off for to-day, and to-morrow you shall have the rest of
+me."
+
+"Agreed!" cried Dowlas; and as M. Letourneur held out his bare arms,
+quick as lightning the carpenter raised his hatchet.
+
+Curtis and I could bear this scene no longer; while we were alive to
+prevent it, this butchery should not be permitted, and we rushed
+forward simultaneously to snatch the victim from his murderers. A
+furious struggle ensued, and in the midst of the melee, I was seized by
+one of the sailors, and hurled violently into the sea.
+
+Closing my lips, I tried to die of suffocation in the water; but in
+spite of myself, my mouth opened, and a few drops trickled down my
+throat.
+
+Merciful Heaven! the water was fresh!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVI
+
+NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA
+
+
+JANUARY 27 continued.--A change came over me as if by miracle. No
+longer had I any wish to die, and already Curtis, who had heard my
+cries, was throwing me a rope. I seized it eagerly, and was hauled up
+on to the raft.
+
+"Fresh water!" were the first words I uttered.
+
+"Fresh water?" cried Curtis; "why then, my friends, we are not far from
+land!"
+
+It was not too late: the blow had not been struck, and so the victim
+had not yet fallen. Curtis and Andre (who had regained his liberty) had
+fought with the cannibals, and it was just as they were yielding to
+over-powering numbers that my voice had made itself heard.
+
+The struggle came to an end.   As soon as the words "fresh water" had
+escaped my lips, I leaned over the side of the raft and swallowed the
+life-giving liquid in greedy draughts. Miss Herbey was the first to
+follow my example, but soon Curtis, Falsten, and all the rest were on
+their knees and drinking eagerly. The rough sailors seemed as if by a
+magic touch transformed back from ravenous beasts to human beings, and
+I saw several of them raise their hands to heaven in silent gratitude.
+Andre and his father were the last to drink.
+
+"But where are we?" I asked at length.
+
+"The land is there," said Curtis, pointing toward the west.
+
+We all stared at the captain as though he were mocking us: no land was
+in sight, and the raft, just as ever, was the center of a watery waste.
+Yet our senses had not deceived us; the water we had been drinking was
+perfectly fresh.
+
+"Yes," repeated the captain, "land is certainly there, not more than
+twenty miles to leeward."
+
+"What land?" inquired the boatswain.
+
+"South America," answered Curtis, "and near the Amazon; no other river
+has a current strong enough to freshen the ocean twenty miles from
+shore!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVII
+
+LAND AHOY!
+
+
+JANUARY 27 continued.--Curtis, no doubt, was right. The discharge from
+the mouth of the Amazon is enormously large, but we had probably
+drifted into the only spot in the Atlantic where we could find fresh
+water so far from land. Yet land undoubtedly was there, and the breeze
+was carrying us onward slowly but surely to our deliverance.
+
+Miss Herbey's voice was heard pouring out fervent praise to Heaven, and
+we were all glad to unite our thanksgivings with hers. Then the whole
+of us (with the exception of Andre and his father, who remained by
+themselves together at the stern) clustered in a group, and kept our
+expectant gaze upon the horizon.
+
+We had not long to wait. Before an hour had passed, Curtis leaped in
+ecstasy and raised the joyous shout of "Land ahoy!"
+
+     .     .     .     .     .
+
+My journal has come to a close.
+
+I have only to relate, as briefly as possible, the circumstances that
+finally brought us to our destination.
+
+A few hours after we first sighted land the raft was off Cape Magoari,
+on the island of Marajo, and was observed by some fishermen, who, with
+kind-hearted alacrity picked us up and tended us most carefully. They
+conveyed us to Para, where we became the objects of unbounded sympathy.
+
+The raft was brought to land in latitude 0 deg. 12' north, so that
+since we abandoned the Chancellor we had drifted at least fifteen
+degrees to the southwest. Except for the influence of the Gulf Stream
+we must have been carried far, far to the south, and in that case we
+should never have reached the mouth of the Amazon, and must inevitably
+have been lost.
+
+Of the thirty-two souls--nine passengers and twenty-three seamen--who
+left Charleston on board the ship, only five passengers and six seamen
+remain. Eleven of us alone survive.
+
+An official account of our rescue was drawn up by the Brazilian
+authorities. Those who signed were Miss Herbey, J. R. Kazallon, M.
+Letourneur, Andre Letourneur, Mr. Falsten, the boatswain, Dowlas,
+Burke, Flaypole, Sandon, and last, though not least,
+                     "Robert Curtis, Captain."
+
+At Para we soon found facilities for continuing our homeward route. A
+vessel took us to Cayenne, where we secured a passage on board one of
+the steamers of the French Transatlantic Aspinwall line, the Ville de
+St. Nazaire, which conveyed us to Europe.
+
+After all the dangers and privations which we have undergone together,
+it is scarcely necessary to say that there has arisen between the
+surviving passengers of the Chancellor a bond of friendship too
+indissoluble, I believe, for either time or circumstance to destroy;
+Curtis must ever remain the honored and valued friend of those whose
+welfare he consulted so faithfully in their misfortunes; his conduct
+was beyond all praise.
+
+When we were fairly on our homeward way, Miss Herbey by chance
+intimated to us her intention of retiring from the world and devoting
+the remainder of her life to the care of the sick and suffering.
+
+"Then why not come and look after my son?" said M. Letourneur, adding,
+"he is an invalid, and he requires, as he deserves, the best of
+nursing."
+
+Miss Herbey, after some deliberation, consented to become a member of
+their family, and finds in M. Letourneur a father, and in Andre a
+brother. A brother, I say; but may we not hope that she may be united
+by a dearer and a closer tie, and that the noble-hearted girl may
+experience the happiness that she so richly deserves?
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Survivors of the Chancellor, by Jules Verne
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURVIVORS OF THE CHANCELLOR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1698.txt or 1698.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/9/1698/
+
+Produced by Judy Boss
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
+  www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809
+North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email
+contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
+Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.