, it began to blow right
hard; for the old gentleman in the grey great-coat, who looks after the
big copper boiler, in the gulf of Mexico, had got behindhand with his
work; so Mother Carey had sent an electric message to him for more
steam; and now the steam was coming, as much in an hour as ought to have
come in a week, puffing and roaring and swishing and swirling, till you
could not see where the sky ended and the sea began. But Tom and the
petrels never cared, for the gale was right abaft, and away they went
over the crests of the billows, as merry as so many flying-fish.

And at last they saw an ugly sight--the black side of a great ship,
water-logged in the trough of the sea. Her funnel and her masts were
overboard, and swayed and surged under her lee; her decks were swept as
clean as a barn floor, and there was no living soul on board.

The petrels flew up to her, and wailed round her; for they were very
sorry indeed, and also they expected to find some salt pork; and Tom
scrambled on board of her and looked round, frightened and sad.

And there, in a little cot, lashed tight under the bulwark, lay a baby
fast asleep; the very same baby, Tom saw at once, which he had seen in
the singing lady's arms.

He went up to it, and wanted to wake it; but behold, from under the cot
out jumped a little black and tan terrier dog, and began barking and
snapping at Tom, and would not let him touch the cot.

Tom knew the dog's teeth could not hurt him: but at least it could shove
him away, and did; and he and the dog fought and struggled, for he
wanted to help the baby, and did not want to throw the poor dog
overboard: but as they were struggling, there came a tall green sea, and
walked in over the weather side of the ship, and swept them all into the
waves.

"Oh, the baby, the baby!" screamed Tom: but the next moment he did not
scream at all; for he saw the cot settling down through the green water,
with the baby, smiling in it, fast asleep; and he saw the fairies come
up from below, and carry baby and cradle gently down in their soft arms;
and then he knew it was all right, and that there would be a new
water-baby in St. Brandan's Isle.

And the poor little dog?

Why, after he had kicked and coughed a little, he sneezed so hard, that
he sneezed himself clean out of his skin, and turned into a water-dog,
and jumped and danced round Tom, and ran over the crests of the waves,
and snapped at the jelly-fish and the mackere