e have n't a moment of time," whispered Desborough, who saw
that the ship was sinking.

"Shove off, men; pull hard!"

A few moments of hard rowing in the heavy sea put them some little
distance away, and the boat waited under just enough way to give them
command of her. The men of the ship kept their stations; calm and
peaceful, they also waited. The ship settled lower and lower; a man
stepped hurriedly aft; and a moment later the bold and brilliant ensign
of Old England, which never waved over braver men, fluttered out in the
heavy breeze from the wrecked mast-head, the vivid red of the proud
flag making a lurid dash of color against the gray sky-line. The ship
was lower now. Now she plunged forward; the water rose; the captain
raised his hand; three hearty cheers rang out; the drums beat; the
marines presented arms. She was gone! The flag streamed out bravely
on the surface of the water, and then it was drawn down; a confused
mass of heads and waving arms was seen in the water, and they too in a
moment were slowly drawn down into the vortex caused by the sinking
ship. The woman again hid her face in her hands; the colonel laid his
arm across the shoulder of his daughter; Desborough and the men in the
boat stared horribly at the spot left vacant; a deep groan broke from
them; they rose on the crest of a wave, sank down again, rose once more
and looked again,--the little boat was alone on that mighty sea!

Oh, the agony of those long and frightful days in that little boat!
Never a sail did they sight, as day after day they rowed or sailed to
the westward, eagerly scanning the horizon for a landfall. The waves
washed over them, saturating their clothing; the chill winds of winter
froze them. First their provisions gave out, though served with the
most rigid economy by Desborough himself; then the water, husbanded as
no precious jewel was ever hoarded, was exhausted to the last drop, and
that drop, by common consent, Desborough forced between Katharine's
reluctant lips, though she would fain have refused it, claiming no
indulgence beyond the others. The rare qualities of that young officer
showed themselves brilliantly in this frightful peril. It was due to
his skill and careful management that they were not swamped a dozen
times; tireless, unselfish, cheerful, unsparing of himself, without him
they would have died. The men bore their sufferings, when all food and
water failed them, with the sturdy resolut