les.

"It is a sail, sir."

"What do you make of it, Mr. Robson?"

"Hard to say. Certainly not a battle ship, nor even a gun-boat."

"What, then?"

"Looks like a small boat, sir. Perhaps there may be people aboard, but
at present it's impossible to say."

Mr. Robson was a lieutenant on the Brooklyn. He had been early in the
war on the battle ship Indiana. There Young Glory had served under him,
and had learned to appreciate the attention to duty and the bravery
displayed by this gallant officer.

He and Captain Miles paced the deck now, talking over what should be
done.

"I should send a boat, sir."

"We shall see in a minute or two what is best to be done, Mr. Robson.
We're running directly for the sail."

"It's not a boat, sir!" cried Mr. Robson, after a while.

"Not a boat?"

"No."

"What, then?"

"A raft."

"You're right," said the captain, after another look. "A raft, sure
enough, and what's more, is that there are people on it. Order out two
boats."

"Yes, sir."

"They must start for the raft at once."

"Instantly, sir."

To lower the boats and man them does not take long on board a
man-of-war. Every man knows his place, and the operation proceeds like
clock work.

In a few minutes they were flying over the water towards the raft. Very
soon they saw it was crowded with people. Some of them raised their
hands as they saw the boats draw near.

"Poor souls!" said Dan Daly. "It's shipwrecked they are, an' starvin'
too."

"Well, it won't take many minutes to remedy that, Dan."

"Pull hard, lads!" cried Mr. Robson. "Every minute counts in a case like
this."

What a sight met the eyes of the blue jackets.

Half of the occupants of the raft were dead men. The survivors seemed to
be, many of them, at the point of death. Very few had strength enough to
rise even to a sitting position.

"No time for talking, lads," said Lieutenant Robson. "Get them back to
the ship at once."

"And the dead, sir?"

"Throw them over. It's all that can be done."

Some stimulants had been taken with the boats, and by the time that the
Brooklyn was reached one of the men had recovered sufficiently to talk.
The others were carried below and given at once into the hands of the
surgeon.

"You have suffered very much," said Captain Miles, kindly.

"Yes, but our troubles are over at last."

"You feel strong enough to talk?"

"Yes, captain. I'm the mate of the Mary Parker, a fruit ship bound from
Rio Ja