t, you have
not, in reality, seen a vessel of any sort. If God should wish to
relieve us, He will send one in His own good time; but if not, He has
His reasons for leaving us alone."

"That I am sure He will have, sir," said Bill.

They waited the whole of the day, anxiously looking out for the sight of
a breeze, but still round them was the same unbroken surface of water,
blue and shining in the day, and dark and leaden at night. The water in
their cask was decreasing fearfully; their provisions, also, were nearly
exhausted. Though they kept lines overboard, and Bill was constantly
fishing, no fish were caught. At last they gave up even attempting to
catch them. As their strength decreased from want of food and water,
they were less able to work the pump. The consequence was, the leak
again gained upon them. All but Bill began to despair. He, true to his
principles, kept up his spirits.

"Well, Bill, I do envy you," said Tommy Rebow; "but your hoping is of no
use. If the vessel does not go down, we shall all be starved in a few
days, so it will make but little difference."

"I don't say that," said Bill. "A breeze will some day or other spring
up, and then, in this narrow sea, some vessel must surely pass us, and
it's not likely that they would leave us to perish; and if not, we may
still be able to carry the vessel to some land or other, even if we
can't carry her to Jamaica, where we shall find provisions and water. I
think it's wrong, therefore, to despair. Let's trust in God. He has
taken care of us up to this time, do not you think He can take care of
us still longer? He can't be tired of looking after us, and if He cared
for us once, He will care for us still."

Still neither Tom nor the rest of the party could recover their spirits.
At length one night it was Jack and Bill's watch. Jack had sat down
and dropped off to sleep, for he had little strength remaining, and all
his spirits were gone. Bill, however, kept awake. He was standing at
the helm, for though there was no wind, the sails were set ready to
catch the first breath of air which might come to them. As he was
looking round, he thought he saw a dark line on the water. It rapidly
approached.

"Jack! Jack!" he shouted out, "here comes the breeze!"

But poor Jack was fast asleep, and fancied when he heard Bill's voice
that he was only dreaming. Again Bill shouted. The vessel began to
lift with the heaving sea. Jack sprang to