a number of men
leaped into it. The lowering was successfully accomplished, but when
they pulled to the spot where the quarter-boat had gone down, not one of
those who had manned her could be found. All had perished.

The remaining four boats were lowered in safety, and all of them pulled
away from the sinking ship, for latterly she had been settling down so
deep that it was feared every pitch would be her last, and had she sunk
while the boats were alongside, their destruction would have been
inevitable. They were rowed, therefore, to a safe distance, and there
awaited the end.

There was something inexpressibly sad in this. It seemed like standing
at the death-bed of an old friend. The sea was still heaving violently;
the gale, although moderated, was still pretty stiff, and the sun was
setting in wild lurid clouds when the _Foam_ rose for the last time--
every spar and rope standing out sharply against the sky. Then she bent
forward slowly, as she overtopped a huge billow. Into the hollow she
rushed. Like an expert diver she went down head foremost into the deep,
and, next moment, those who had so lately trod her deck saw nothing
around them save the lowering sky and the angry waters of the Pacific
Ocean.

CHAPTER FIVE.

ADRIFT ON THE WIDE OCEAN.

For some time after the disappearance of the ship, the men in the boats
continued to gaze, in a species of unbelief, at the place where she had
gone down. They evidently felt it difficult to realise the truth of
what they had seen. The suddenness of the change and the extreme danger
of their position might have shaken the stoutest hearts, for the sea
still ran high and none of the boats were fitted to live in rough
weather. They were, as far as could be judged, many hundreds of miles
from land, and, to add to the horror of their circumstances, night was
coming on.

"My lads," said Captain Dall, sitting down in the stern of his boat, and
grasping the tiller, "it has pleased the Almighty to sink our ship and
to spare our lives. Let us be thankful that we didn't go to the bottom
along with her. To the best of my knowledge we're a long way from land,
and all of us will have to take in a reef in our appetites for some time
to come. I have taken care to have a good supply of salt junk, biscuit,
water, and lime-juice put aboard, so that if the weather don't turn out
uncommon bad, we may manage, with God's blessing, to make the land. In
circumstances of t