t.

Now, upon hearing George call out, the bo'sun bade him keep silence,
thinking it was but a piece of boyish restlessness; but George drew the
candle to him, and bade us to listen; for the wrappers were covered with
fine handwriting after the fashion of a woman's.

Even as George told us of that which he had found we became aware that
the night was upon us; for suddenly the crying ceased, and in place
thereof there came out of the far distance the low thunder of the
night-growling, that had tormented us through the past two nights. For a
space, we ceased to smoke, and sat--listening; for it was a very fearsome
sound. In a very little while it seemed to surround the ship, as on the
previous nights; but at length, using ourselves to it, we resumed our
smoking, and bade George to read out to us from the writing upon the
paper wrappers.

Then George, though shaking somewhat in his voice, began to decipher that
which was upon the wrappers, and a strange and awesome story it was, and
bearing much upon our own concerns:--

"Now, when they discovered the spring among the trees that crown the
bank, there was much rejoicing; for we had come to have much need of
water. And some, being in fear of the ship (declaring, because of all our
misfortune and the strange disappearances of their messmates and the
brother of my lover, that she was haunted by a devil), declared their
intention of taking their gear up to the spring, and there making a camp.
This they conceived and carried out in the space of one afternoon; though
our Captain, a good and true man, begged of them, as they valued life, to
stay within the shelter of their living-place. Yet, as I have remarked,
they would none of them hark to his counseling, and, because the Mate
and the bo'sun were gone he had no means of compelling them to wisdom--"

At this point, George ceased to read, and began to rustle among the
wrappers, as though in search for the continuation of the story.

Presently he cried out that he could not find it, and dismay was
upon his face.

But the bo'sun told him to read on from such sheets as were left; for, as
he observed, we had no knowledge if more existed; and we were fain to
know further of that spring, which, from the story, appeared to be over
the bank near to the vessel.

George, being thus adjured, picked up the topmost sheet; for they were,
as I heard him explain to the bo'sun, all oddly numbered, and having but
little reference one to t