so I won't trouble you
with a longer message."

Just as Nettleship had returned to the gun-room to add the messages to
his letter, there came a shout from the poop--

"A sail! a sail!"

Many of the officers rushed up to take a look at her. Tom Pim and I
followed them. We could make her out clearly,--a small vessel, right
away to windward. The question was whether she would see us.

Captain Drury also had his telescope on her.

Now she was hidden by the seas which rose up between us; now she came
clearly into view, her hull almost visible.

"She's standing this way," said Captain Drury, "and I believe has made
us out, but of that we can't be certain. However, we must not relax in
our efforts to keep the ship afloat, for it may be many hours before we
can get aboard her."

I should have said that we had had a spar secured to the stump of the
mainmast, to which an ensign with a jack downwards had been nailed from
the first, in the hopes of attracting the attention of any passing
vessel.

Captain Bouchier, who had been informed that a sail was in sight, now
came up to have a look at her, but almost immediately went down again
among the men.

"Lads," he said, "your exertions will be rewarded, I hope; but you must
not slacken in them, or your labours may be thrown away. We may keep
the ship afloat many hours longer if you bale and pump as sturdily as
heretofore. By that time the sea may have gone down, and we may manage
to get aboard the vessel in her boats, though she probably will not
venture alongside."

The men received his address with a faint cheer, and turned to again at
the pumps, while those employed in baling passed the buckets to and fro
with greater alacrity even than before.

I occasionally ran up on deck to see how near she was getting. I know
my heart bounded when I saw the English flag flying out at her peak.
She appeared to be a good-sized merchantman, a "snow," and I heard some
of the officers who had been looking through their glasses say that she
had guns aboard.

On hearing my report when I returned, some of the men burst into tears,
others shouted for joy and shook each other by the hand, believing that
our deliverance was near.

Night was now coming on. The sea still ran too high to allow of boats
laden with men to pass from one vessel to the other. For the same
reason it was impossible for the stranger to come near enough to take
any of us off. Many would very probably peris