y,
the sea caught the reflection as well.

It was beautiful.

"It doesn't seem so dangerous now, Sylvia," I whispered, "as it felt
during the gale."

"No," came through her colourless lips.

"There's not a ripple on the sea," I said; "and if they keep on pumping
the water out, we'll--we'll get to land in time."

"Yes," she said, and held my hand a little tighter. After a while, "I
wonder if we're very far from land."

"Nine hundred miles, I think I heard Mr. Wheeler say." She shuddered.

Mr. Wheeler was the first mate.

I looked across the wild waste of water, and shuddered too. So calm--so
endless!

The men were working like galley-slaves down below, pumping turn and
turn about, watch and watch. We saw the relieved gang come up bathed in
perspiration. They were labouring for their lives, we knew.

Now and again some sailor, passing by, would say:

"Keep a good heart, little leddies," and look over his shoulder with a
cheerful smile.

It made us cheer up too.

We heard one say they were pumping one hundred tons of water every hour
out of the ship. It sounded appalling.

In a little while a light breeze began to blow. "From the south-west,"
somebody said it was.

And then we heard the captain give an order about "making all sail" in
the ship.

Every man that could be spared from the pumps set about it directly; and
soon great sails flew up flapping in the breeze, and the _May Queen_
went flying before the wind.

By-and-by Dr. Atherton came, and ordered us down to the saloon, and made
us each drink a glass of wine. And then Mr. Wheeler joined us; and we
sat down to supper just as we had done many a happy evening before--only
that the captain didn't come to the table as usual, but had his supper
carried away to him.

We learned that the captain had altered the ship's course, and "put the
_May Queen_ right before the wind," and that he was "steering for the
nearest land."

It comforted us.

"We have gained a little on the leak," the first mate said. "Three
inches!"

"Only three inches!" we cried.

"Three inches is a great victory," Mr. Wheeler replied. "I think it's
the turn of the tide."

"Thank God!" muttered Dr. Atherton.

We lay down in our narrow berths still comforted, and slept like tops
all night. I'm not sure that the doctor hadn't given us something to
make us sleep when he gave us a drink, as he innocently said, "to settle
and soothe our nerves."

"Thud! thud! thud!" The omino