l, I don't care, I can die
but once, that's sartin sure; and he'll go to the devil, that's sartin
sure."

And Smallbones, with this comfortable assurance, continued to strike out
for the land, which, indeed, he had but little prospect of ever making.

"A shame for to come for to go to murder a poor lad three or four times
over," sputtered Smallbones, after a time, feeling his strength fail
him. He then turned on his back, to ease his arms.

"I can't do it no how, I sees that," said Smallbones, "so I may just as
well go down like a dipsey lead."

But as he muttered this, and was making up his mind to discontinue
further exertions--not a very easy thing to do, when you are about to go
into another world--still floating on his back, with his eyes fixed on
the starry heavens, thinking, as Smallbones afterwards narrated himself,
that there wa'n't much to live for in this here world, and considering
what there could be in that 'ere, his head struck against something
hard. Smallbones immediately turned round in the water to see what it
was, and found that it was one of the large corks which supported a
heavy net laid out across the tide for the taking of shoal-fish. The
cork was barely sufficient to support his weight, but gave him a certain
relief, and time to look about him, as the saying is. The lad ran under
the net and cork with his hands until he arrived at the nearest shoal,
for it was three or four hundred yards long. When he arrived there, he
contrived to bring some of the corks together, until he had quite
sufficient for his support, and then Smallbones voted himself pretty
comfortable after all, for the water was very warm, and now quite
smooth.

Smallbones, as the reader may have observed during the narration, was a
lad of most indisputable courage and of good principles. Had it been
his fortune to have been born among the higher classes, and to have had
all the advantages of education, he might have turned out a hero; as it
was, he did his duty well in that state of life to which he had been
called, and as he said in his speech to the men on the forecastle, he
feared God, honoured the king, and was the natural enemy to the devil.

The Chevalier Bayard was nothing more, only he had a wider field for his
exertions and his talents; but the armed and accoutred Bayard did not
show more courage and conduct when leading armies to victory, than did
the unarmed Smallbones against Vanslyperken and his dog. We c