n, and nail
it over the bows."

This was done without delay, and in less than an hour a sort of
half-deck was made, which turned off the spray and rendered the task of
bailing much lighter--a matter of considerable importance, for, in such
a sea, there was no possibility of an open boat remaining afloat without
constant bailing.

At first the men talked a good deal in comparatively cheerful tones
while they worked, and the irrepressible Larry O'Hale even ventured to
cut one or two jokes; but when night began to cover the deep with thick
darkness, one after another dropped out of the conversation, and at last
all were perfectly silent, except when it became necessary to give an
order or answer a question, and nothing was heard save the whistling of
the wind and the gurgling of the waves as they rushed past, their white
crests curling over the edge of the boat as if greedy to swallow her,
and gleaming like lambent fire all around.

"This is a terrible situation," said Will Osten, in a low tone, with an
involuntary shudder. "Do you think there is much chance of our
surviving, captain?"

"That's not an easy question to answer, doctor," replied Captain Dall,
in a tone so hearty that our hero was much cheered by it. "You see,
there is much in our favour as well as much against us. In the first
place, this is the Pacific, and according to its name we have a right to
expect more fine weather than bad, especially at this time of the year.
Then we have the trade winds to help us, and our boat is a good one,
with at least two weeks' provisions aboard. But then, on the other
hand, we're a terrible long way off land, and we must count upon a gale
now and then, which an open boat, however good, is not calc'lated to
weather easily. See that now," added the captain, looking back over the
stern, where, from out of the darkness, Osten could just see a huge
wave, like a black mountain with a snowy top, rolling towards them. "If
we were only a little more down in the stern, that fellow would drop on
board of us and send us to the bottom in half a minute."

Will felt that, although the captain's tones were reassuring, his words
were startling. He was ill at ease, and clutched the seat when the
billow rolled under them, raising the stern of the boat so high that it
seemed as if about to be thrown completely over, but the wave passed on,
and they fell back into the trough of the sea.

"Musha! but that was a wathery mountain no l