ho is injured--to make
the sufferer well again. That is my duty here, and I shall do it to the
best of my ability."

I did not answer, only laid my hand upon his, and he pressed it warmly,
holding it for some moments before turning his back to me; and I made
out that he rested his arm upon the side of the boat, and sat gazing at
the dim lights which showed where the ship lay.

For some time no one spoke, and we lay there gently rising and falling
on the golden-spangled water. There was not a breath of wind, and the
silence was so great that any one could have imagined that the occupants
of the boat were asleep.

But no one dozed for a moment, only sat or lay there, trying to bear
patiently their mental and bodily suffering.

It was the captain who broke the silence, toward morning, by saying to
the mate--

"Have you settled what to do, Brymer?"

"Yes," said the mate, starting. "I can't quite make out how we are
situated till daylight, but unless Jarette has taken them out, we have
the boat's spars and sails. You know how fast she is, and I propose, if
we can do so, to--"

He stopped short, for Walters moaned piteously till Mr Frewen bent down
over him and altered the position in which he lay.

"Yes, go on," said the captain feebly.

"I propose hoisting sail in the morning."

"And making for the Cape?"

"No, sir; weather permitting, and if we have a sufficiency of provisions
and water, I shall keep pretty close to the ship--our ship. I shall
keep just out of range of a bullet, and that is all; merely hang about
or follow her when she catches the wind, until some other vessel heaves
in sight. Captain Jarette is a clever, cunning man, but he has, I
think, given us our chance, and we shall hang on to him till a chance
comes for seizing the ship again."

"I thought our case was hopeless to-night," said the captain.

"And so did I, for a time, sir," continued the mate; "but he has
over-reached himself in trying to get rid of us--hoist himself with his
own petard--if the weather will only favour us now."

Mr Frewen drew a deep breath, which sounded to me as if full of relief,
and the mate went on--

"It is not too much to expect that if at any time we make an attack now,
some of the men will side with us."

"Don't matter if they don't, sir," growled Bob Hampton, in the deepest
of deep bass voices. "We're strong enough, if you'll only give us a
chance."

"All depends on chance, my lads," said Mr Br