he could find, but as he got to one of the doors he gave it a push,
and two huge dogs sprang out and leaped at him. He thought at first that
they would bite him, but he soon found that they meant him no harm, and
one of them let him get on his back and ride up to me as I came from the
hold of the ship.

When the boys had done their search, and the spoil was brought on deck,
we thought we had found all that we should need. "As for me," said my
wife, "I have brought good news, for I find we have still on board a
cow, an ass, two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, and a sow, and I have
found food for them all."

"All that you bring will be of use," said I; "but I fear that Jack's
dogs will do us more harm than good."

"Not at all," said Jack, "for they can help us to hunt when we get to
land."

"Well said, Jack. And now let us see what we can do that will aid us to
get there."

We then took the casks that we had found, and Ernest and I soon cut them
in half. With these tubs we made a kind of raft, though it was no slight
task. The tubs, in fact, were a fleet of eight small round boats, made
so fast to some planks that no one of them could float from the rest.
The next thing to be done was to launch the raft. This we at length did,
and when the boys saw it slide down the side of the ship and float on
the sea, they gave a loud shout, and each one tried who should be the
first to get on it. I made it fast to the ship, and there left it.

I then told my wife to change her dress for that of one of the crew
which she had found, as her skirts would have got in her way when she
had to climb. She did not at first like this, but did so as soon as she
saw the truth of what I told her.

At last, when all was done, we went to bed, and slept as sound as if we
had been on land.

CHAPTER II.

WE were all up at the break of day, and knelt down to thank God that He
had kept us from harm through the night.

We then put all the things on the raft, and ten live hens and two cocks
were put in one of the tubs. Some ducks and geese we let go, in the hope
that they would swim to the shore; and a pair of doves were set free, as
they could fly to the land.

There was a place in the raft for each of us. In the first tub sat my
wife; in the next Frank, who was eight years old; in the third Fritz,
not quite twice the age of Frank; in the fourth were the fowls, and some
old sails that would make us a tent; the fifth was full of good thing