VOYAGE ON A CHEST CONTINUED--FIND A CASK ON WHICH NUB AND THE MATE
REST--THE RAFT WITH WALTER RETURNS--A SWORD-FISH CAUGHT--A BOAT PICKED
UP--WASHED FROM THE RAFT--STORMY NIGHT--TWO RAFTS IN SIGHT.
No two men could have conducted themselves more heroically than did the
mate and Nub to save the young girl left under their charge. Neither of
them allowed her to discover how weary and exhausted they felt by their
prolonged and almost superhuman exertions. Now and then they stopped,
and holding on with both hands to the chest, allowed their bodies to
float on the water, thus obtaining some relief. The water was so warm
that they did not feel any benumbing effects from being so long in it.
After resting for a time, they would again strike out, Nub always
commencing with a laugh and a negro song, though he seldom got further
than--
"Swim away, boys, swim away;
We get to land 'fore end of day."
Then he would cry out, "I tink I smell de flowers and de fruit already."
Mr Shobbrok spoke but little, except occasionally a word or two to
cheer up Alice. She did not experience the anxieties of her older
companions, for it did not, happily, enter her head that they might
after all fail to reach the shore. She could not help thinking about
Walter, however, and wondering how it was that the raft had run away
with him. She kept her eyes ahead, looking out for the land; but though
her vision was remarkably keen, she could not discover it. She thought,
however, that she could distinguish, far away, the white sail of the
raft; and so undoubtedly she could, but she forgot that all the time it
was going further and further from them.
The mate had at first had another cause for anxiety. It was that they
might be espied and followed by some of the sharks which they had seen
in the neighbourhood; but as they got further away from the spot, he
began to hope that they had escaped them, and that the creatures were
too much occupied with the carcasses of the whale and the zygaena to
follow them.
They had thus been going on for two hours or more, when Alice exclaimed,
"I see something floating ahead!"
"What is it like?" asked the mate anxiously.
"It seems to me like another chest, or a cask perhaps. If you will lift
your head a little out of the water, you will see it clearly."
The mate drew himself up till his head was as high as the chest.
"It's an empty cask," he exclaimed; "and will serve to rest one of us,
though it will not assist us while towing the chest."
They swam towards it, and found that it was a large empty cask--probably
one which had floated out of the American whaler which had gone down.
"Now, Mr Shobbrok, you get on de cask; you want rest more dan I do,"
said Nub. "But take care dat you not roll round and round. It no easy
matter to sit on an empty cask in de water."
The mate tried to do as Nub advised, but he found that the cask would
roll round, and that the only way he could rest on it was by throwing
himself length-wise along it--though he had considerable difficulty in
keeping it steady. He was thus, however, able to regain his strength.
When he found himself somewhat recovered, he resigned his place to Nub,
who managed by working his feet on either side to sit across it, holding
on to the chest. Scarcely had he taken his seat when he
exclaimed,--"Oh, I can smell de flowers and de fruit! Here come de
land-breeze; but den it will drive us back faster dan we came along."
Nub was right. In another minute a strong breeze, smelling of the
earth, blew in their faces; and the water, which had hitherto been calm,
was soon rippled over with small waves, which rapidly increased in
height, hissing and bubbling around them. This was excessively trying
to the mate, who could with difficulty keep his head above the foam
which drove in his face. His heart began to fail him, for while the
breeze continued the little hope he ever had of reaching the land must
be abandoned. All he could do was to hold on to the chest, which Nub
balanced on the opposite side, without attempting to make any progress.
He was, for the first time, beginning to lose hope of saving the little
girl, when he was aroused by hearing Nub exclaim--
"Hurrah! here come de raft! De wind catch her sail, and drive her back.
We soon see Massa Walter, and I hope he soon see us."
"I see him! I see him!" cried Alice, lifting up her head.
The mate raised himself also; and then, sure enough, he caught sight of
the raft skimming along at a rapid rate over the seas.
Whether Walter saw them or not, they could not tell; but they supposed
that he had recovered his senses, and was steering the raft,--and that,
finding the breeze in his favour, he was endeavouring to reach the spot
where he had left them. He might remember the chest and casks and other
objects floating about, and believe that they had been able by such
means to support themselves. There could be little doubt, by the steady
way in which the raft approached, that Walter was at the helm, though,
as he was steering a course rather on one side, it was probable that he
had not yet discovered them. As the raft drew nearer, Nub exclaimed--
"I will swim away and cut him off, or else maybe he will pass us."
"Let us first try what hailing will do," said the mate; "we will all
shout together."
"Ay, ay!" answered Nub. "I give de time."
All three, raising their voices, shouted as loud as they could, Alice's
shrill note reaching almost as far as the others.
"Once more," cried Nub; "and sure dis time he hear." Again they all
cried out, even louder than before.
"Dere! dere, Missie Alice, he see us!" exclaimed Nub, looking down at
the little girl as he spoke. At that moment the sheets were let go, and
Walter was seen eagerly looking out to discover whence the voices came.
The raft now came gliding up towards them, Walter having gone back to
the helm to steer it.
Nub was the first to spring on board, and then having made fast the
chest, he lifted Alice safely on to the raft, where she was received in
Walter's arms. The almost exhausted mate was then dragged on board by
Nub. The first thing Mr Shobbrok did was to haul down the sail, that
the raft might not be driven further away from the land; he then turned
towards Walter, not to find fault with him for running away,--for he was
well aware that the poor lad could not help it,--but to ascertain the
state of his mind.
Walter had placed Alice on her usual seat, and now sat by her side. He
looked up at Mr Shobbrok. "I cannot tell you how it all happened," he
said in a low voice. "I only remember seeing Alice in the water, and
shrieking out for some one to help her, when I fell down fainting on the
raft. I was unconscious of what happened further, till I found myself
alone on the raft, which had at that instant been taken aback by a
strong breeze from the westward. I felt full of dismay and grief, but
as calm and self-possessed as I ever had been. I considered what was to
be done. My first thought was to go in search of you. I lowered the
sail, got the raft round, and again setting the sail, steered away to
the eastward, fully prepared to perish should I not find you; and oh, I
cannot express how thankful I am to find you again!"
"I am sure he is," said Alice, jumping up and kissing Walter.
"I am certain of it too, my lad," said the mate. "We don't blame you;
and can only be thankful that, through God's mercy, your senses were so
wonderfully restored."
"Yes, Massa Walter, we bless Heaven dat de shark not eat us, and dat we
find you; and now all go well."
Both the mate and Nub felt too much fatigued just then to speak more; so
having secured the chest and cask, they threw themselves down to rest,
as they could not attempt to row against the breeze then blowing, with
their strength exhausted as it was.
Alice was scarcely less weary than they were, not so much from exertion
as from alarm and anxiety. Her clothes soon dried in the hot sun, and
then she too lay down. Walter, who was now apparently quite recovered,
sat by her side, watching her till she dropped off to sleep. The wind
did not much affect the raft, but it was all the time slowly drifting
further and further from the shore. The little girl's slumbers were
disturbed by the terrible scenes she had gone through, and now and then
she cried out, "Oh, save him! oh, save him! Where is Walter? where is
Walter?"
Walter, on hearing his name pronounced, took her hand. "Here I am, all
safe," he said in a soothing tone. "I am very, very sorry that I caused
you so much alarm; but it's all right now. We shall soon reach the
land, I hope; and then we will build a boat, and go in search of our
father and the rest."
Alice, who was still scarcely awake, did not understand what he said.
Suddenly she started up. "O Walter, where are we?" she exclaimed,
looking wildly about her. "I thought you had gone away again, and were
never coming back. You will never leave me, will you?"
"I should be miserable without you," he answered. "No, I never will
leave you, if I can help it, till we find our father--though Mr
Shobbrok and Nub take the best care of you they possibly can: had it not
been for them, we should both have been lost."
"Don't think that it's we who take care of you, my children," said the
mate, who had been awakened by their voices. "There is One above who
alone has the power to do so. We are only the instruments in His
hands."
"But we do what we can, though," said Nub, sitting up; "and now I tink
the wind begin to fall, and we get out de oars."
"We had better take some food first," said the mate. "The young people
must be hungry, and I am pretty sharp set myself."
"What you like to have, Mr Shobbrok? Roast beef, boiled mutton, pork
pies, or plum pudding?" asked Nub, trying to make Walter and Alice
laugh, for he observed how sad they both looked. "Well, if we can't
have dem, we have whale blubber; it bery good for dem dat like it. Take
a lilly bit, Missie Alice."
Poor Alice's lip curled. She recollected how nauseous she had found it
in the morning. Nub got out some of the blubber, which the rest of the
party swallowed without making faces. Fortunately there was still a
small portion of biscuit, and this enabled Alice at length to get down
enough of the food to sustain her strength. They had still the wine and
water; but, alas! there now remained only sufficient biscuit to afford
her another meal. "After that has gone, what can we give the little
girl to eat?" thought the mate. "Well, well, she has been sustained
hitherto, and we must not anticipate evil."
Nub having stowed away the rest of the blubber, the oars were got out,
and while Walter steered, he and the mate began to urge on the raft
towards the shore. Their progress, however, was very slow, as when they
stood up their bodies acted the part of sails, and they were driven back
almost as fast as they advanced. Several birds were flying overhead, a
sign that land could not be far off; while, as they looked around, they
saw here and there fish of all sizes rising out of the water.
"We may get hold of one of these fellows if they come near us," said the
mate. "Our time may be better spent in preparing the harpoons. Lay in
your oar, Nub, and we will set to work."
They all eagerly sat down, and in a short time two harpoons were fitted
with lines, while spears were also got ready for use. Scarcely were
their preparations completed when the land-breeze died away; and a
sea-breeze shortly afterwards setting in, the sail was once more
hoisted, and the raft steered for the land. All the party kept a bright
lookout ahead on either side, in the hope of seeing a fish and getting
near enough to catch it. The mate and Nub stood with their harpoons in
their hands ready for instant use; the importance of catching some
creature made them vigilant; the strong flavour of the blubber assured
them that it would not keep much longer. They had got a short distance,
when Alice exclaimed, "See, see! what is that curious fish?" She
pointed to a spot a short distance on one side, her sharp eyes detecting
what had escaped the observation of the mate. As she spoke, there rose
from the surface a creature with a long white polished piece of bone or
ivory at the end of its snout, which might be well likened to a sword,
and having two fish of considerable size spitted on it; at the same
moment two large frigate-birds were seen in the sky, flying rapidly down
to deprive the fish of its prey.
"That's a sword-fish," exclaimed the mate; "and we must try to get it
before those frigate-birds succeed in stealing the smaller fish from it.
Lower the sail, Nub; get out your oar and pull away. Starboard the
helm, Walter. That fellow will not dive as easily as he may expect to
do with those fish on his nose."
Nub pulled away with all his might, thus bringing the raft close up to
the spot where the sword-fish, which had run its pointed weapon, perhaps
unintentionally, through the fish, was struggling to get them off. The
mate stood with his harpoon ready; it flew from his hand, and was buried
deeply in the creature's body. In vain it tried to escape. The fish
impeded its progress; and, Nub coming to the mate's assistance, the
line, which had run out some way, was hauled in; after which Nub,
seizing the animal's snout, in spite of its struggles, held it fast, and
drew off the two fish, which he threw on the raft.
"Dere, we got dem safe, at all events. Dey make a good dinner for you,
Missie Alice," he exclaimed. "Now, Massa Walter, you take de spear and
stick it into de sword-fish's belly." Walter thrust in the weapon, and
in another instant the creature's struggles ceased, and it was hauled up
on the raft.
"Thank Heaven," said the mate. "We have now got food enough, if it will
last so long fresh, for two or three days; and could we but smoke it, we
should each of us enjoy two hearty meals a day for a week to come.
However, it may, at all events, keep for some time if dried in the sun.
Hoist the sail, Nub; Walter, do you steer, while the black and I cut up
the fish."
The frigate-birds, disappointed of their prey, had flown off, but were
hovering overhead ready to seize the entrails as they were thrown
overboard.
The fish hauled up on the raft was about ten feet long, of a
bluish-black above, and silvery white below, the skin being somewhat
rough.
"I have seen them much bigger than this one," observed the mate; "but
it's as well that we did not catch a much bigger fellow, for we should
have had some difficulty in handling it. I have known these fellows
attack a whale, and run their beaks right into its side, while the
thrasher sticks to its back; and between them they manage to kill the
monster, though I believe the sharks benefit most by the hunt. I have
seen them caught in the Mediterranean by harpoons, especially off the
coast of Sicily. The people in those parts are little better than
idolaters, and when they go out fishing they sing some old heathen song
which they fancy attracts the sword-fish. They won't utter a word of
their own language, for fear that the creatures should understand them;
but certain it is that the fish follow their boats, when they stand
ready with their harpoons to strike them. The flesh is good eating, and
very nourishing when cooked; as we shall find it, I hope, though we have
to eat it raw. There's another sort of fish which I have fallen in with
in these seas, and a curious creature it is. It is called `the
sail-fish,' for it has got a big fin on the top of its back which it can
open or shut like a Chinese fan; and when it rises to the top of the
water, the wind catches this sail-like fin and sends it along at a great
rate; and at its chin it has got two long lines, which I suppose serve
it to anchor by, to the rocks in a tideway, when lying in wait for its
prey."
"What a curious sort of creature it must be," said Alice; "how I should
like to see one!"
"Perhaps we may, when we get closer in-shore," answered the mate; "and
we will try to harpoon it if you don't object to our eating it
afterwards."
"Oh, no, no; that I would not," answered Alice. "I only wish some
flying-fish would come on to the raft; I would willingly eat them raw.
I remember what a foolish remark I made about the matter when we were on
board the _Champion_. I little thought how very thankful I should be to
catch some of the beautiful creatures for the purpose of eating them."
"I no tink Missie Alice need eat de fish raw," said Nub. "I manage to
cook it."
"How so?" asked the mate. "We have no hearth nor fuel."
"I find both," said Nub, in a confident tone. "Look here, Massa
Shobbrok. We get some bits of board. I put dem down on de middle of de
raft, and we damp dem well; den I take de skin of dis fish and put it on
de top of dem, doubled many times; den I take some of de dry pieces of
blubber, and I pile dem up; den I get some chips from de sword-fish, and
fix dem close to de heap; and now I set fire to de heap, and de fish
toast; and I give it to Missie Alice and Massa Walter to eat."
"Oh, thank you, Nub; but Walter and I shall not like to eat cooked fish
while Mr Shobbrok and you are eating it raw," said Alice.
"We see, Missie Alice, if we got enough for all," answered Nub.
"Your plan seems a good one, Nub," said the mate. "We will try it, at
all events."
Nub set to work and prepared the hearth, and by putting on only a few
pieces of blubber at a time, he was able to keep up a sufficient heat to
cook some small pieces of fish, which Alice and Walter gratefully ate.
There were a few pieces over, which he insisted that the mate should
take, he himself humbly saying that raw fish was "good enough for black
fellow." The mate and Walter stood by ready to throw water on the raft
should the fire burn into the wood; but though it nearly consumed the
skin, it only charred the boards beneath it.
There was still some blubber remaining, with which Nub proposed to cook
another meal for Alice on the following day. Part of the sword-fish was
now cut up into thin strips, which were hung up along the yard to dry in
the sun, as they would thus, it was hoped, keep longer. They had now
such food as they could require; though, eaten without any condiments,
it was not palatable, nor altogether wholesome. It would, however, keep
them from starving, and they were thankful. They knew that many
voyagers, under similar circumstances, had been much worse off than they
were.
They had been so much engaged that they had almost forgotten the chest
which had been the means of saving Alice. Walter, looking at it, asked
the mate if he would like to have it opened.
"Though I do not expect to find much within it, still there may be
something that will prove useful to us," answered the mate.
Not being very heavy, though of considerable size, it was easily hauled
up on the raft. It was a more difficult matter to get it open, for they
were afraid of breaking their axe should they attempt to prize the lid
off. Walter proposed to use one of the spear-heads, which might be
driven under the lock with a hammer. The attempt was immediately made,
and succeeded better than they anticipated. It was, as the mate had
suspected, a carpenter's chest. In the upper part was a drawer
containing boat-nails, brad-awls, gimlets, and other small tools. The
centre part, which had contained the larger tools, was empty; but below,
under a sort of false bottom, were found a fine and a coarse saw, some
parcels of large heavy nails, two cold irons, and several pieces of iron
of various shapes, which altogether had served to ballast the chest
while in the water.
"I don't know that in our present circumstances we can make much use of
these things," observed the mate; "but if we get on shore on an
uninhabited island, they will serve us either for putting up a house, or
for building a boat, and we may be thankful that we obtained them; and
should the sea get up, the chest will also serve to add buoyancy to the
raft."
By this time it was almost dark, and the wind had again begun to drop.
As night drew on it was a complete calm. The mate and Nub rowed on for
some time; but they found that they were overtaxing their strength, and
were obliged to desist, hoping to get a breeze from the eastward the
next day.
They had now less fear of want of food than of want of water. Their
stock of the latter necessary of life had already begun to run short.
The mate, therefore, proposed that they should reduce their daily
allowance, though they gave Alice as much as she would consent to take.
The party on the raft had been so accustomed to the sort of life they
were leading, that it no longer appeared strange to them. Now and then
Walter woke up, and saw the stars shining brightly overhead, and
reflected on the wild ocean around him; then he went to sleep again
almost with the same sense of security which he had felt on board ship.
He began to fancy that the raft would stand any amount of sea, and he
fully expected to reach the shore at last. Alice slept on more calmly
than on the previous night, the comparatively wholesome meal she had
taken making her feel more comfortable than before. Now the mate took
his watch, now Nub his; and as Alice opened her eyes, she saw either one
or the other on the lookout, so she soon again closed them, feeling as
secure as did Walter. Towards morning both were awakened by finding the
raft tossing about far more violently than it had hitherto done. The
mate was steering, and Nub was attending to the sheets with the sail
hoisted only half-way up.
"What's the matter?" asked Walter.
"We have got a stiffish breeze, and it will carry us the sooner to the
shore, if it does not come on to blow harder," answered the mate. "But
do you and Miss Alice sit quiet; the weather does not look threatening,
and if the wind brings us some rain we may be thankful for it."
"But the wind may throw the surf on the shore, and we may find it
dangerous to pass through it," observed Walter.
"Time enough to think about that when we get there," said the mate.
"Either there was no land in sight yesterday, and we were mistake when
we fancied we formerly saw it, or a mist hanging about it hid it from
our view."
"Perhaps we see it when daylight come back," observed Nub; "and dat just
begin to break astern."
The dawn gradually increased. Nub kept eagerly looking out ahead. "I
see someting!" he exclaimed suddenly. "It either a rock or a boat."
"That's not a rock," said the mate, "or it would be hidden as the sea
washes over it."
"Den dat a boat," cried Nub. "Can it be de cap'en's?"
"Our father's boat?" cried Walter and Alice in chorus.
"It may be," said the mate; "but I think not. We shall soon know."
Eagerly they all watched the boat.
"You must not raise your hopes too high," said the mate at length. "If
that boat had people on board she would be pulling towards us, but by
the way she floats on the water I am pretty certain that she's empty.
Yes, I am confident of it," he added. "In another minute we shall be up
to her, and till then there is little use hazarding conjectures on the
subject."
The raft approached the boat. "Furl the sail!" cried the mate. Walter
and Nub did so, and the raft glided up alongside the boat, which was
half-full of water, and much shattered. Nub seized hold of the bows,
while Walter jumped in, and with his cap began to bail out the water.
"What boat is it?" asked Alice.
"One of the _Champion's_--no doubt about that," answered the mate; "but
don't be alarmed, Miss Alice, at there being no one on board. It's
strong evidence, in my opinion, that the people have been taken out of
her, and that the boat, being water-logged, has been abandoned. Bail
away, Walter. We shall soon free her from water, and then as soon as
the sea goes down we shall haul her up on the raft, and see what we can
do with her. That carpenter's chest was not sent us for nothing, for
the tools are just the sort we want for the work; and, look here! the
planks we nailed on to the bottom of the raft are exactly suited for
repairing her. I scarcely dared to pray for a boat like this; but now
she has been sent us, we may have good hope of reaching the shore, which
I own I began to doubt we ever should."
"Ay, Massa Shobbrok, you can never pray for too much," said Nub. "I
always pray for what I want; and if it no come, I know it not good for
me."
"Do you think this is papa's boat?" asked Alice.
"No, Miss Alice. I know this is Morgan the second mate's boat, which
accompanied the captain's; and we may hope that the same vessel which
received both crews on board may pick us up."
Walter having reduced the water in the boat, sail was hoisted, and she
was dropped astern, Nub jumping in to assist in bailing out the
remainder. At present she was too sorely battered and leaky to be of
any use. Their fear was that the weather might get worse, and that she
might after all have to be abandoned. However, as the day advanced,
happily the wind fell and the sea went down. As soon, therefore, as
they had breakfasted they hauled the boat up on the raft; and though she
occupied the larger portion of it, there was still room for Alice to sit
near the mast. All hands then set to work to repair her,--Walter and
Nub acting under the direction of the mate, who performed the more
difficult parts of the task. The boat-nails found in the chest were
invaluable, but, of course, without the planks which had been preserved,
nothing could have been done.
"Now, lads," said the mate, "before we begin we must see what amount of
material we have got, and fit it to the parts for which it is best
suited. A little time spent in this way will be time saved in the end,
and enable us to accomplish what we might not otherwise have the power
to do."
They worked away, scarcely allowing themselves a minute to rest or to
take food. The boat had apparently been damaged by the flukes of a
whale, several planks on one side having been broken in. These were
first repaired, and her bottom made sound; and then other injuries she
had received at the bow and stern were put to rights, either by fixing
in new planks or by nailing others over the damaged places. There was
still wood enough remaining to run a weatherboard all round her, thus to
enable her the better to go through any bad weather she might encounter
during the long voyage she would possibly have to make. Lockers were
then fitted to the bow and stern, in which provisions might be stowed,
and so prevent the risk of these being wetted should the sea break into
the boat.
Darkness found them still engaged in the task. Their intention was,
next morning to make a step for the mast and to build a little cabin aft
for Alice.
As there was not room to lie down on the raft, the boat was propped on
it; and they all got into her, having also stowed away on board the cask
of water, the remaining biscuits, the bottles of wine, two harpoons and
spears, and a portion of the fish. Walter and Alice occupied the stern
sheets; the mate lay down amidships; while Nub, who was to keep the
first watch, sat in the bows. Nub, finding himself in a boat, felt much
more secure than he had done on the raft. He had kept the morning
watch, and had been working hard all day. It is not surprising,
therefore, that when he ought to have been sitting with his eyes wide
open he allowed them to close, and fell asleep. The mate himself,
though generally very wakeful, experienced a feeling of security he had
not for long enjoyed, and slept more soundly than usual. It was almost
a dead calm when they lay down, and the sea was perfectly smooth; no
vessel could run over them, for none could approach without wind;
indeed, unless to be prepared for a change in the weather, it seemed
almost needless to keep watch.
Some hours, probably, had passed, when suddenly the voyagers were
awakened by a loud roaring sound, and by feeling the boat lifted on a
sea and sent surging forward. They all started up, the mate and Nub
looking around them, while Walter held Alice in his arms, thinking
something terrible was about to happen.
"Out with the oars!" cried the mate. "Walter, ship the tiller." He was
instantly obeyed, fortunately for them; for should such another sea as
that which had washed the boat off the raft catch her broadside, it
might roll her over and over. By great exertions the mate got her
round, head to the sea, and there he and Nub were able to keep her. But
what had become of the raft? In the darkness it could nowhere be seen.
Perhaps it was afloat near them, or it might, deprived of their weight,
have been turned over and knocked to pieces by the seas. Happily, most
of the articles on which they depended for existence were in the boat;
but their mast and sail had gone, with the chest, and the greater
portion of their tools. In vain the mate and Nub looked around on every
side in the hope of seeing it. Could they find it, even though it
should be sorely battered, they might hang on to leeward of it by a
hawser, and thus, in comparative security, ride out the gale; as it was,
they must keep their oars moving all night to prevent the seas from
breaking into the boat. They were, fortunately, rested; and the flesh
of the nutritious sword-fish had restored their strength.
"Pull away, boys; pull away!" sung out Nub. "It's a long lane dat has
no turning. We better off dan on de raft, which de sea would have
washed over ebery moment. Here we pretty dry--only have to keep de oars
moving. Pull away, boys; pull away!"
"That's the right spirit, Nub," said the mate. "I only wish that I
could sing as you do."
"I sing to cheer up Missie Alice," said Nub in a low voice. "I don't
tink I could sing oderwise."
Walter had learned to steer well, and kept the boat's head carefully to
the seas, so that she rose over each of them as they came hissing by.
The wind was blowing on the land; and though the boat's head was turned
the other way, she was in reality drifting towards it. Without a sail
they could not attempt to put her stem to the seas, and they must
therefore remain in their present position until the weather should
again moderate: when that might be it was impossible to say. However,
the mate and Nub, being happily inured to hard work, could keep on
rowing for many hours together.
Thus the night passed away; and when daylight returned, the rolling seas
hissing and bubbling around them were alone to be seen. They naturally
looked out for the raft. The boat had just risen on the crest of a
rolling wave, when Nub exclaimed, "I see de raft on de larboard hand,"--
and he pointed with his chin to indicate the direction; "but it look
bery much knocked about."
"But I see it on the starboard bow," exclaimed Walter. "It seems to me
as if it had kept perfectly together, though the mast has gone."
"How can that be?" exclaimed the mate, looking round in the direction
towards which Nub was pointing. "Yes, you are right, Nub; that's our
raft, sure enough. And now, Walter, I will try to get a look at what
you say is a raft." The mate managed, while pulling, to slew himself
sufficiently round to look in the direction in which Walter pointed.
"Sure enough, Walter, that's also a raft," he exclaimed,--"a much larger
one than ours; but whether or not any people are on it I cannot make
out."