f
the extent of the calamity that had befallen him. It was only when he
had visited cabin, steerage and forecastle, and called the crew over by
name, that he reached the grave fact that there was no one left on board
the Rancocus but Bob Betts and himself!

As Mark did not know what land was to be found to leeward, he naturally
enough hoped and expected that the people in both boats might reach the
shore, and be recovered in the morning; but he had little expectation of
ever seeing Captain Crutchely again. The circumstances, however,
afforded him little time to reflect on these things, and he gave his
whole attention, for the moment, to the preservation of the ship.
Fortunately, the anchor held, and, as the wind, which had never blown
very heavily, sensibly began to lessen, Mark was sanguine in the belief
it would continue to hold. Captain Crutchely had taken the precaution to
have the cable bitted at a short range with a view to keep it, as much
as possible, off the bottom; coral being known to cut the hempen cables
that were altogether in use, in that day, almost as readily as axes. In
consequence of this bit of foresight, the Rancocus lay at a distance of
less than forty fathoms from her anchor, which Mark knew had been
dropped in four fathoms' water. He now sounded abreast of the main-mast,
and ascertained that the ship itself was in nine fathoms. This was
cheering intelligence, and when Bob Betts heard it, he gave it as his
opinion that all might yet go well with them, could they only recover
the six men who had gone to leeward in the jolly-boat. The launch had
carried off nine of their crew, which, previously to this night, had
consisted of nineteen, all told. This suggestion relieved Mark's mind of
a load of care, and he lent himself to the measures necessary to the
continued safety of the vessel, with renewed animation and vigour.

The pump-well was once more sounded, and found to be nearly empty. Owing
to the nature of the bottom on which they had struck, the lightness of
the thumps, or the strength of the ship herself, it was clear that the
vessel had thus far escaped without any material injury. For this
advantage Mark was deeply grateful, and could he only recover four or
five of the people, and find his way out into open water, he might hope
to live again to see America, and to be re-united to his youthful and
charming bride.

The weather continued to grow more and more moderate, and some time
before the