rds the schooner was out of sight. After waiting for some
time a breeze sprang up, and as we had not anchored in any great depth
of water we soon got the anchor to the bows and made sail. Anselmo was
more loquacious than usual. We had gone up a mile or two when I felt
the vessel touch the ground. As the breeze freshened, however, she
glided on, stirring up the thick mud at the bottom.

"I rated our pilot soundly, but he only laughed, observing, `Oh, senhor
capitan, that is noting.' I happened to remark that he made frequent
visits to his canoe, and in a short time after I went below. When I
returned on deck I found that he was completely drunk, and not willing
to trust the brig any longer to his charge, as the wind also was
falling, I brought up; of this fact, however, Anselmo did not appear to
be aware, for he stood at his usual post conning her with the gravity of
a post-captain who has royalty on board his ship. `Starboard now,'
`steady,' `port,' he sung out every now and then, while holding on by a
stanchion to support himself, notwithstanding which he occasionally
surged forward, and I thought would have tumbled over on his nose,
while, of course, he afforded infinite amusement to the midshipmen and
crew. We were unable to move again during the day. Notwithstanding his
condition he managed to climb into his hammock and sleep away the fumes
of liquor.

"Next morning he seemed greatly surprised to find that the brig had not
made better way, and declared that she had dragged her anchor, as to his
certain knowledge we had sailed on three or four hours after we had left
the spot where we were now brought up.

"We had eaten another of our turtles. I had ordered the last to be
killed, and was standing aft watching a large cow-fish which came
sweeping by on our quarter, its snout and shining body rising just above
the surface, when I heard a loud cry from Tom, and I saw him with one
hand in the turtle's hammock dancing up and down, and crying lustily,
`Quick, quick! if you don't, he will have my thumb off.'

"I ran forward to his assistance, and found that having forgotten at
which end the animal's head lay, he had intended, as he said, to give
its tail a pull, when to his dismay the creature's mouth caught his
thumb. With a boathook, fortunately at hand, I managed to wrench open
the turtle's mouth and extract Tom's thumb. Had the creature been in
full strength it would undoubtedly have bitten it off; even a