ff by the sea. The gale continued to
blow furiously, and for two hours a perfect hurricane raged. It
suddenly ceased, and the sea--though not so rapidly--began to go down.
On this their hopes revived. Tom was anxious to ascertain Casey's
opinion, and made his way to the fore-rigging.

"I'd stick to the hull, sir," answered Pat. "The brig has floated so
long; she may float longer, and we had better wait until daylight before
we attempt to make a raft. We may chance to slip off into the sea, or
one of those savage sharks may be watching a chance to get hold of us."

Tom followed Casey's advice, and without much difficulty regained his
former position. Never had a night appeared so long to any of the
party. Notwithstanding their position, however, Billy was constantly
dropping off to sleep, and Tom and Desmond had to hold him on, or he
would to a certainty have fallen into the water. As the morning
approached, the sea became perfectly calm. They would have been
thankful for the breeze, which might bring some vessel to their succour.
What hope could they have of surviving many hours on the bottom of the
brig? The sun rose. Almost exhausted, the midshipmen could with
difficulty hold on. As they turned their weary eyes in all directions,
not an object was in sight.

"No land to be seen?" asked poor Billy.

"That may be a couple of hundred miles away, I fear," answered Tom.

"Any vessel coming to our help?" again inquired Billy, who, stretched on
the rigging, could not lift his head.

"Without a breath of air, there is no chance of that," said Desmond;
"but cheer up, Billy, perhaps a steamer will be coming this way."

"There are not many likely to be cruising in this direction," observed
Tom. "However, as I have said all along, we will hope for the best."

"Oh! I'm so hungry; so thirsty," moaned the younger midshipman. "Can't
you get me something to eat?"

"If we were to go into the cabin, we should find nothing," said Desmond.
"The last cask of water was on the starboard side, with the hung out,
and must be full of salt water by this time."

The midshipmen again relapsed into silence.

The sun rose higher and higher, its beams striking down with fury on
their heads; even Tom, who was the strongest, felt that they could not
hold out much longer. Hour after hour went by; still, if they were not
to perish, something must be done. He asked Casey and the other men
whether they had by chance any fish-ho