hed and he had seen the last of his crew off in safety, and he had
scarcely left the deck himself and taken his place in the lifeboat
before the doomed vessel heeled over, and with no further sign or
warning disappeared into the depths.

All night long, through the cold and darkness, the little party was
tossed upon the surface of the swirling waters; but towards dawn the
storm abated, and when day broke, the sea, though still running fast,
was sufficiently calm to enable the sailors to make some use of their
oars. They put up a signal of distress, and waited anxiously, hoping
that some passing vessel might notice them, and stop to pick them up.
Hour after hour went by. Cold, hungry, and drenched to the skin, Gipsy
tried to be brave, and to bear patiently what she knew must be endured
equally by all. The sun rose high, and shone down warmly upon them, but
there was still no sign of either land or a ship. It was long past noon
when one of the crew, with a jubilant shout, pointed eagerly to a tiny
black streak of smoke on the horizon, which they knew must issue from
the funnel of some distant steamer. With frantic energy they waved
jackets and handkerchiefs, to try to attract the attention of those on
board. Would they be seen, or would the ship pursue her course without
noticing the small speck far away on the water? There was a minute of
horrible uncertainty, then: "They've sighted us!" yelled the captain.
"They're turning her about and putting her back!"

"Thank God we're saved!" exclaimed Mr. Latimer.

The rest seemed like a dream to Gipsy. She could remember afterwards
that she was helped by two sailors up the companion way of a tall liner,
and that she saw a long row of excited passengers staring at her over
the railings; then all became a blur, and when she came to herself she
was lying on a couch in a strange cabin, with her father and a doctor
bending over her.

"She only fainted from exhaustion," she could hear the doctor saying.
"We'll soon have her all right again. Ah, here comes the beef tea! A few
hours of sound sleep will make all the difference. When she wakes,
you'll find she's almost herself again."

Five days later found Gipsy seated at breakfast with her father in the
coffee-room of a Liverpool hotel, none the worse for her adventures. The
liner that had picked up all the survivors of the ill-fated _Queen of
the Waves_ had been on her way to Liverpool, and Mr. Latimer decided to
make a brief stay