r head reach till daylight. The _Francesco_ he
said--and I afterwards found out that he was not over-rating her
qualities--was a marvellous little vessel for taking care of herself.

"Well, I jogged along till one Sunday morning, when I made the land
between Cape Bougainville and Cape St. George. It had been raining in
torrents for two days, and I was feeling a bit done up; so, picking out
a quiet little bay with thick forest growing right down to the water's
edge, and not a sign of a native or native house, I ran in and let go
in fifteen fathoms, but within a stone throw of the shore. And I'll be
hanged, gentlemen, if I did not see, ten minutes afterwards, the
smoke of half a dozen signal fires rising over the trees from as many
different places, and all within three miles of the cutter. However, I
was too weak to heave up again, even had I felt inclined. I wanted to
cosset myself up, and get a good sweating between thick blankets to
drive some of the fever out of me; and, niggers or no niggers, I meant
to do so that day. Then I thought of a dodge--I mean the broken-glass
trick.

"In the hold were half a dozen barrels of empty gin, beer, and
whisky bottles. We had put them aside to give to the Admiralty Island
people--especially the women and children--who attached some value to
them as water holders. I brought up sixty or seventy dozen, and smashed
them up in a clean hogshead. Then I turned the whole lot out in a heap
on the main hatch, got a shovel, and covered the entire deck fore and
aft, first getting all loose ropes, &c, out of the way, as I did not
want to get any glass in my own hands when I next handled the running
gear. After that I went below, lit a spirit lamp, and made myself a big
bowl of hot soup--real hot soup--a small tin of soup and bouilli, and a
half bottle of Worcester sauce with a spoonful of cayenne pepper and a
stiff glass of brandy thrown in.

"It touched me up, I can tell you, but I knew it would do me good as I
lay down in my bunk, rolled myself in a heavy blanket, and piled over me
every other rug and blanket I could find. In half an hour I was sweating
profusely, for not only was the soup remedy working, but the little
cabin, having every opening closed, was stiflingly hot. However, I stuck
it out for a good two hours, till I felt I could stand it no longer; so
I got up, unfastened my cabin door to get some air, and began rubbing
myself down with a coarse towel. Heavens! it felt delightfu