the helm hard down, I brought the
ship close to the wind, thus throwing her fore topsail aback, and, by
the mercy of Providence, judging my distance with such nicety that the
next moment the longboat, by this time full to her thwarts and utterly
helpless, was scraping along under the shelter of our lee side, while
the ship, suddenly arrested by her backed topsail, careened until her
lee rail was level with the foam. Gurney and Saunders hove their
rope's-ends fair into the boat; but there was no need for them, the ship
was bowed so steeply that the occupants were able to seize her rail and
scramble inboard unaided. In as many seconds fourteen strange men had
transferred themselves from the sinking longboat to our decks, while the
boat, rasping astern along the ship's side, capsized and turned bottom-
up as she drove clear. Gurney flourished his hand to me as a sign that
all was well, and then, as I once more put the helm up and allowed the
ship to go off before the wind, he seized some three or four of the
dazed strangers and invoked their aid to square the foreyard.

It was with a mighty sigh of relief that I presently resigned the wheel
to Saunders and went forward to greet and welcome the rescued men; for,
by the skin of our teeth we had saved them all in the very nick of time,
and that, too, without parting so much as a ropeyarn. Furthermore, by
an extraordinary stroke of fortune--good for us, although bad for them--
we had, in the most unexpected manner, secured the services of enough
hands to enable us to work the ship without being constantly worried as
to the quantity of sail that we might safely venture to set. Therefore
we were now in a position to avail ourselves to the utmost extent of
every kind of weather, and could hope to bring our remarkable voyage to
a speedy conclusion.

As I joined the group of strangers clustered about Gurney, down on the
main deck, it was easy to determine, even before I came within sound of
their tongues, that they were British--Australians, that is to say, for
they one and all bore the well-marked characteristics of that sturdy,
independent, self-reliant race. Gurney at once took it upon himself to
perform the ceremony of introduction.

"This, mates," said he, indicating me, "is our skipper, Mr Troubridge.
He is but a youngster, as you may see for yourselves; but you may take
my word for it that, so long as he commands, everything will go right
with us. Our story is a lon