and seas and all the powers of the
earth.

With a better appetite than might have been expected, and with cheerful
spirits, we went to breakfast. No distinction was made between the
ladies and gentlemen and the men. All shared alike. We had an oil
lamp, with which we could boil our tea, and our other provisions we were
compelled to eat cold. Few of them indeed required cooking.

Day after day we glided on, still favoured by fine weather. The little
tent we had brought sheltered the Frau and her charges. Those who had
been on watch also were not sorry in the day-time to creep into it and
go to sleep. Thus we all obtained sufficient rest, and those alone who
have been exposed as we were, can understand how sweet that rest was.

"A sail! a sail!" cried Roger Trew. The beams of the rising sun were
shining on the white canvas of a ship which was hull down a long way to
the westward. She seemed to be crossing our course, but whether we
could reach her before she had stood to any great distance seemed
doubtful. We got out our oars to increase the speed of our raft. How
eagerly we all kept looking towards that patch of white just rising
above the horizon! We drew nearer and nearer. Perhaps the look-out
aloft might have seen us. From the deck of the ship we could scarcely
have been visible. Frequently, as we drew nearer, I felt inclined to
shriek out and to shout to her to stay for us.

"Do you think she is English?" asked Mr Hooker.

"Little doubt about it," answered Mr Thudicumb. "She is a merchantman,
though probably bound round from Singapore to trade with some of these
islands, and maybe to go to Sydney, or perhaps up to China."

It seemed very doubtful, however, whether she would perceive us before
she had got to a distance. Already she was ahead of us, standing away
on the port tack. Our eyes, as they had hitherto been, were still fixed
on her.

"See! see! there is lift tacks and sheets!--the helm's a-lee!--she's
coming round!" shouted Tarbox. "We are seen! we are seen!"

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

OLD ENGLAND REACHED AT LAST--CONCLUSION.

The ship was standing towards us. We had now no doubts of her being a
large English merchantman. She was a new ship, too, apparently.
Presently she was hove to. A boat was lowered, and with rapid strokes
pulled towards us. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" asked some
one in the boat as we lowered our sails.

"Our answer would be a long one, frie