ugh yet, and the captain took out his. We tied them together by
the corners, and made a long pennant of them. When we tied one end of
this to the pole, it made quite a show. The wind soon dried it, after
the pole was hoisted and held up, and then our flag fluttered finely.

The sun had now come out quite bright and warm, which was a good thing
for us, for it dried us off somewhat, and made us more comfortable. The
wind had also gone down a good deal. If it had not been for these two
things, I don't know how we could have stood it. But the waves were
still very high.

Every time we saw the ship, she seemed to look bigger and bigger, and we
knew that the captain was right, and that she was making for us. But she
was a long time coming. Even after she got so near that we could plainly
see her hull and masts and sails, she did not seem to be sailing
directly toward us. Indeed, sometimes I thought she didn't notice us.
She would go far off one way, and then off the other way.

"Oh, why don't she come right to us?" cried Corny, beating her hands on
her knees. "She isn't as near now as she was half an hour ago."

This was the first time that Corny had let herself out in this way, but
I don't wonder she did it. The captain explained that the ship couldn't
sail right to us, because the wind was not in the proper direction for
that. She had to tack. If she had been a steamer, the case would have
been different. We all sat and waited, and waved our flag.

She came nearer and nearer, and it was soon plain enough that she saw
us. The captain told us that it was all right now--all we had to do was
to keep up our courage, and we'd soon be on board the bark. But when the
men who were holding the pole let it down, he told them to put it up
again. He wanted to make sure they should see us.

At last, the bark came so near that we could see the people on board,
but still she went past us. This was the hardest to bear of all, for she
seemed so near. But when she tacked and came back, she sailed right down
to us. We could see her all the time now, whether we were up or down.

"She'll take us this time," said the captain.

I supposed that when the ship came near us she would stop and lower a
boat, but there seemed to be no intention of the kind. A group of men
stood in her bow, and I saw that one of them held a round life-preserver
in his hand,--it was one of the India-rubber kind, filled with air, and
to it a line was attached. When t