ieces of ship's biscuit that Slag had discovered in his
pockets; and a cup of water drawn from the pond which had accumulated in
a hollow of the tarpaulin during the night.

"It is lucky that one of the pieces of pork happened to be cooked,"
observed Dr Hayward, as he served out the allowance, "for I would have
been sorry to break into the preserved meat tins till forced to do so.
We must keep these as a reserve as long as possible."

"Right you are, sir!" said Slag, with his mouth full, while with a
clasp-knife he carefully cut off another morsel to be ready, "right you
are! That 'minds me when we was starvin', me and my shipmates in the
Arctic regions, so as our ribs was all but comin' through our skins, an'
we was beginnin' to cast an evil eye on the stooard who'd kep' fatter
than the rest of us somehow, an' was therefore likely to prove a more
satisfyin' kind o' grub, d'ee see--"

"I say, Joe," said Hayward, interrupting, for he feared that Slag's
anecdote might not tend to render the pork breakfast more palatable.

"Sir?" said Slag.

"Will you just go to the bow and take a squint ahead? I think there
seems to be something like an end o' the cliffs in view--your eyes are
better than mine."

Slag swallowed the mouthful on which he was engaged, thrust after it the
morsel that was ready to follow, wiped the clasp-knife on his thigh, and
went forward to "take a squint."

It turned out that the "end" of the cliffs which the doctor had only
supposed possible, was a reality, for, after a long gaze, Slag turned
and said--

"Your eyes are better than you think, sir, for the end o' the cliff is
visible, an' a spit o' sand beyond is quite plain."

As this report was corroborated by Bob Massey, and then by all the other
men, it sent a thrill of gratitude into the hearts of most of the
party--especially the women, who, having lain so long wet and almost
motionless, were nearly benumbed in spite of the sunshine. Longer
exposure, indeed, would probably have proved fatal to poor Mrs Mitford,
possibly also to Mrs Hayward, who was by no means robust. As for our
coxswain's wife, having been reared among the health-giving breezes of
the sea-shore, and inured from infancy to exposure and hard work, she
suffered much less than her female companions, and busied herself a
great part of the time in chafing their cold limbs. In doing this she
reaped the natural advantage of being herself both warmed and
invigorated. Thus vir