ow no
more, and nearly let my oar slip before I could get it inboard.

"We must wait for a breeze," said Mudge, "which will come some time or
other; it is our only hope."

For some time he was silent. He alone continued seated on a thwart, the
rest of us having sunk down with our heads upon them, while we leaned
against the side of the boat. As the sun rose, the heat became more and
more oppressive.

"Lads, it won't do to give way to despair," exclaimed Mudge suddenly,
after he had been silent for an hour or more. "Can't some of you sit up
and talk?"

On hearing him say this, I endeavoured to arouse myself. Just then I
heard a gentle splash in the water not far off. "What's that?" I
exclaimed.

"A shoal of flying-fish," cried Mudge. "They are heading this way. Get
out your oar, Rayner, and we will try and intercept them."

By a desperate effort I did as he told me, while he pulled the oar on
the opposite side.

"That will do now," he cried. "Stand by, lads, and try to catch your
breakfast as they come this way."

The appeal was not in vain; even Tom showed that he had still some life
in him. The next instant several flying-fish fell into the boat, while
with the stretchers we knocked down others which came alongside. They
were pursued by a couple of albacores; one of these would have supplied
us with ample food for several days, but so rapid were their movements
that we got but a single blow at one of them. It dashed by the boat,
and was in an instant lost to sight.

The shoal having passed by, we had no hope of catching more, so we
immediately set to work eating those we had captured--more in the
fashion of ravenous beasts than human beings. They had died directly
they were out of the water, or we should scarcely have waited to give
them a knock on the head as a quietus before we dug our teeth into them.
When people are situated as we were, they do things at which under
other circumstances they would be horrified.

But eight fish had been caught; we had consumed five, and thus only
three remained to be divided among us for our next meal. However, even
the small amount of food we had taken somewhat restored our strength,
and I felt that I could hold out another day if water could be obtained;
but there was no prospect of rain--the only source from whence it could
be derived.

"If a bird would just tumble into the boat, it would give us meat and
drink," observed Mudge. "We must hope for that