re, and have had time to put something to eat and drink on the
raft. It was all wasted time to try to save the ship. It did no good,
after all. The captain said nothing to this. He knew that he had done
his duty in trying to put out the fire, and he just kept his mouth shut,
and looked out for a sail. There was one man with us--a red-faced,
yellow-haired man--with a curly beard, and little gold rings in his
ears. He looked more like a sailor than any other of the men, and Rectus
and I always put him down for the sailor who had been longer at sea, and
knew more about ships and sailing, than any other of the crew. But this
man was the worst grumbler of the lot, now, and we altered our opinion
about him.

Corny woke up every now and then, but she soon went to sleep again, when
she found there was no boat or sail in sight. At least, I thought she
went to sleep, but she might have been thinking and crying. She was so
crouched up that we could not see whether she was awake or not.

CHAPTER XX.

THE RUSSIAN BARK.

We soon began to think the captain was mistaken in saying there would be
lots of ships coming this way. But then, we couldn't see very far. Ships
may have passed within a few miles of us, without our knowing anything
about it. It was very different from being high up on a ship's deck, or
in her rigging. Sometimes, though, we seemed high enough up, when we got
on the top of a wave.

It was fully noon before we saw another sail. And when we saw this one
for the second or third time (for we only caught a glimpse of it every
now and then), a big man, who had been sitting on the edge of the raft,
and hardly ever saying a word, sung out:

"I believe that's a Russian bark."

And after he had had two or three more sights at her, he said:

"Yes, I know she is."

"That's so," said the captain; "and she's bearing down on us."

Now, how in the world they knew what sort of a ship that was, and which
way it was sailing, I couldn't tell for the life of me. To me it was a
little squarish spot on the lower edge of the sky, and I have always
thought that I could see well enough. But these sailors have eyes like
spy-glasses.

Now, then, we were all alive, and began to get ready to put up a signal.
Fortunately, the pole was on the raft,--I believe the captain had it
fastened on, thinking we might want it,--and now all we had to do was to
make a flag. We three got out our handkerchiefs, which were wet, but
white eno