the man on the fore-part of the
raft attempted to turn it round; again and again the savage creatures
assailed it; and at length one, more ferocious than its companions,
threw itself upon the raft, and over it went--the two unhappy beings
instantly becoming the prey of the monsters.

We turned our eyes away from the sight, not without a dread that we
might ere long be attacked in the same way. We had, however, the
advantage of a strong raft, considerably higher out of the water than
the other; and thus we had less reason to fear that the sharks would
succeed in upsetting it.

"It serves the fellows right," observed Ben; "though, villains as they
were, I could have wished them a better fate."

Wearied with our exertions, and as there was no immediate necessity for
rowing--seeing we could not hope to reach the shore until a breeze got
up in our favour--we put in our oars to rest.

"Of course, Mr Boxall, you will take command of the raft," said Ben,
touching his hat; "and maybe you will think fit to pipe to breakfast,
as, I dare say, Mr Blore and Mr Halliday are getting hungry again."

"That I will, very gladly," said Boxall; "and I will try, at all events,
to do my best for all hands."

"Hungry! I should think I am," exclaimed Halliday.

We had some more fish, with some biscuit,--which, though soaked in salt
water, afforded nourishment. The fish we could eat raw better than some
salt pork which Ben told me he had on board. Although our food was not
palatable, we had not much apprehension of starving. We were chiefly
anxious about water, of which our supply was very small; and we could
not help being struck by Ben's fidelity in coming to look for us,
knowing, as he must, that we should consume so much of the precious
liquid, which was little more than sufficient for himself and his
companion.

The day wore on, and still no breeze got up. "I wish that we had had an
oar apiece, as we might then have had better hopes of making progress
with the raft towards the shore," I observed. Halliday, however,
declared that he thought we were pretty well off as we were,--as it
would be a pity to exert ourselves, and to find that after all it was of
no use; for a strong breeze from the shore would send us back in an hour
the distance we had made good during a day's labour.

"Still, if every day we make some progress, when the breeze does come
from the westward we shall be so much nearer the shore," observed
Boxall. "T