d somewhat above 100 gallons--as near
as I could calculate, about 108--and therefore it was in all likelihood
an old pipe that had once contained sherry.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

THE HORROR OF DARKNESS.

The result of my calculation was of the most satisfactory nature.
Eighty gallons of water would give half a gallon each day for 160 days,
or a quart _per diem_ for 320 days--nearly a whole year! Surely I could
subsist on a quart a day?--surely the voyage could not last for so long
a period as 320 days? A ship might sail round the world in less time.
I remembered having been told so, and it was fortunate I remembered it,
for my mind was now at ease on the score of water. For all that, I
resolved not to drink more than a quart a day, and on this allowance I
made no doubt that the supply would be sufficient.

There was more danger of running short of food; but, upon the whole, I
now felt very little apprehension, as I had fully resolved to diet
myself on the most economic scale.

So far, then, as food and drink were concerned, I felt no further
uneasiness. It was well assured that I was not to die either of thirst
or starvation; and the very remarkable manner in which both food and
drink had been supplied--placed, as it were, before me--naturally led me
to the reflection that the hand of Providence had been extended to aid
me, and I was still further consoled with the hope that He who had thus
mercifully preserved me for the present, would not forsake me in the
future.

In this state of feeling I continued for several days, and although it
was an irksome life--every hour seeming of itself a day--still I was
able to endure it. Sometimes I endeavoured to kill time by counting not
only the hours, but even the minutes and seconds; and in this occupation
(for I could think of no other) I often passed several hours at a time.
My watch enabled me to amuse myself in this manner, and I found
companionship in its cheerful ticking. I fancied that it beat louder
than I had ever before heard it, and most likely this was so, the sound
being magnified by the wooden walls that surrounded my cell. I took
care never to let the watch go to the full length of its chain, lest it
might run down and derange my reckoning. Not that I cared to know the
hour. That was of no consequence. I did not even know whether it was
night or day by the watch, nor would it have mattered had I not known
the one from the other, as the brightest s