y see when on the summit of a wave. But the fragment of
plank still seemed to be a terribly long way off, my strength was
beginning to flag, and despair was again gripping at my heart when, as I
rose upon the next sea, I was cheered by the quite unexpected sight of a
considerable quantity of wreckage not more than a hundred fathoms
distant. The sight renewed my courage, my composure returned; I was
once more calm enough to be able to husband my remaining strength and
employ it to the best advantage; I found myself steadily gaining upon
the objects of my pursuit; and finally, after a long and dreadfully
exhausting struggle, I arrived in the midst of the wreckage.

The first thing I came to happened to be a seaman's chest, which had
undoubtedly floated up through the hatchway when the schooner foundered.
It floated deep, for in addition to being full of water it evidently
contained several articles of the usual kind which a sailor takes to sea
with him; but it had a sufficient reserve of buoyancy to afford me an
appreciable measure of support, and I clung to it while recovering my
breath and resting my wearied limbs after my long swim; it also enabled
me to look round at my leisure and make up my mind as to which of the
objects in sight would best serve my purpose. There was one of the
halves of the wheel grating floating at no great distance from me, but
it was a small, thin affair, made of oak, possessing no very great
amount of buoyancy, and, although it would undoubtedly be better than
nothing at all, I quickly came to the conclusion that there were other
pieces that would serve my purpose better. There was, for instance, a
hatch--probably one of the main hatches; and after some consideration I
decided that I could not do better than secure possession of it. But I
wanted something else as well; I could not resign myself to the idea of
merely supporting myself upon it and passively allowing the wind and sea
to take me whithersoever they would; there was land in sight, and it was
my purpose to reach it, if possible, therefore I required something in
the nature of a paddle wherewith to propel my hatch and guide it in the
right direction; and presently I saw a piece of splintered plank, about
four-feet long and six inches wide, which looked more suited to my
purpose than anything else in sight. I had by this time quite recovered
my breath, and was also somewhat rested; I, therefore, abandoned the
chest without more a