p
relief, and our hopes rose of saving her. Of late we had been on the
smallest possible allowance of water, and now, to our dismay, the purser
announced that the last cask was expended. Nor could wine or spirits be
got at owing to the quantity of water in the hold. We had beef and
pork, but the bread was all spoiled; thus, even should we keep the ship
afloat, we ran the risk of dying of hunger and thirst. Of the crew of
the _Hector_, which had consisted of three hundred men when my
companions and I got on board, nearly one hundred had been killed in
action, or had since died, and still others were dropping off fast.

Day after day went by. We had known when in the boat what it was to
suffer from thirst, but I now felt it more severely. Even Nettleship
owned to me that he didn't think he could get through another day.

"I don't know whether either of us will survive, Paddy," he said, "but
if you do, I want you to write to my mother and sister, who live near
Plymouth, to tell them what happened to me, and that I thought of them
to the last; and should be thankful if you could just get some one to
let the Admiralty know that Jack Nettleship did his duty while life
remained."

I tried to cheer him up, at the same time promising to carry out his
wishes if I should survive him. I fancy a good many, both of officers
and men, were feeling as he did. Still, no one I saw showed any signs
of cowardly apprehension. Our chief work was now to keep the men at the
pumps and baling. It was only by the constant efforts of the officers
that they could be induced to remain at their stations; and when "Spell
ho!" was cried, and a fresh gang was ordered to take their places, the
people relieved staggered away, and fell down on the deck like drunken
men. The others, after labouring away for some time, relaxed in their
exertions. Nettleship and I were standing near, occasionally taking a
turn to help them. One poor fellow fell down. We ran forward to lift
him up, but he was dead. We could only just drag him out of the way and
call to another to take his place. Before many minutes were over
another fell in the same way, dying at the post of duty, as heroically
as if he had been standing at his gun. One of the lieutenants, who just
then came up, called the surgeon to examine them. He came at once, but
his efforts proved ineffectual to restore the men, and they were soon
sent to join a number of their shipmates in their ocean