ago. Every day I thought it would be our
last. The storm passed away and the sea became calm but the ship kept
settling lower and lower. Only the fact that part of the cargo was wood
kept her afloat so long. I managed to get some provisions and water up
on deck, but the sea had spoiled most of the stuff. We had to eat only a
little at a time, as I knew it would be some days before we could be
rescued, if we ever were. Two days ago we ate the last of the food and
drank almost the last of the water."

"Then you had nothing since then," spoke Jack.

"Only a few drops of rain that I caught on a piece of sail," answered
Mrs. Johnson.

"Never mind, you can have all you want now, mother," said Nellie, coming
over to pat her parent's cheek. "Oh," the child went on, "I was so
thirsty I could just cry when I thought of such things as ice cream
sodas."

"I guess you could," agreed Mark. "Well, we can't give you any soda
water, but we have plenty of the other kind."

Mrs. Johnson was much interested in the _Porpoise_ and Professor
Henderson showed her all about the craft. Though the quarters were
rather cramped, a small cabin was fitted up for the lady and her
daughter.

"We will travel a bit under the water so you can get used to it," said
the captain after a tour of the ship had been made. The tanks were
filled, and the _Porpoise_ sank beneath the waves. At first Mrs. Johnson
was much frightened, and Nellie cried. But when they saw how skillfully
the ship was managed, and how easy it was to rise again, they lost their
fears.

For several days the voyage was continued. Mrs. Johnson and Nellie
remained aboard as there was no place to land them, and they said they
wished to stay until they met some ship sailing north.

One day, just at dusk, when the _Porpoise_, after a long run under the
water had come to the surface, the professor, came up on deck to take a
look around. Washington and Andy accompanied him.

"Looks like land, off there to the left," remarked the old hunter.

"Get the glasses, Washington," said Mr. Henderson. "It may be a ship."

He took a long and careful look through the binoculars.

"It's some sort of land," he announced. "We'll go over in the morning
and see what it is. Probably it's an island, for there's no main land in
these parts. We are in the middle of the southern Atlantic now."

The next morning, after breakfast, the _Porpoise_ was headed toward the
dark spot on the surface of the water