ed Peterkin round the neck without knowing
apparently what you were about. In doing so, you pushed the telescope--
which you clung to as if it had been your life--against Peterkin's
mouth--"

"Pushed it against his mouth!" interrupted Peterkin; "say crammed it
down his throat! Why, there's a distinct mark of the brass rim on the
back of my gullet at this moment!"

"Well, well, be that as it may," continued Jack, "you clung to him,
Ralph, till I feared you really would choke him. But I saw that he had
a good hold of the oar; so I exerted myself to the utmost to push you
towards the shore, which we luckily reached without much trouble, for
the water inside the reef is quite calm."

"But the captain and crew, what of them?" I inquired anxiously.

Jack shook his head.

"Are they lost?"

"No, they are not lost, I hope; but, I fear, there is not much chance of
their being saved. The ship struck at the very tail of the island on
which we are cast. When the boat was tossed into the sea it fortunately
did not upset, although it shipped a good deal of water, and all the men
managed to scramble into it; but before they could get the oars out, the
gale carried them past the point and away to leeward of the island.
After we landed I saw them endeavouring to pull towards us; but as they
had only one pair of oars out of the eight that belonged to the boat,
and as the wind was blowing right in their teeth, they gradually lost
ground. Then I saw them put about and hoist some sort of sail--a
blanket, I fancy, for it was too small for the boat--and in half-an-hour
they were out of sight."

"Poor fellows!" I murmured sorrowfully.

"But the more I think about it I've better hope of them," continued Jack
in a more cheerful tone. "You see, Ralph, I've read a great deal about
these South Sea Islands, and I know that in many places they are
scattered about in thousands over the sea, so they're almost sure to
fall in with one of them before long."

"I'm sure I hope so," said Peterkin earnestly. "But what has become of
the wreck, Jack? I saw you clambering up the rocks there while I was
watching Ralph. Did you say she had gone to pieces?"

"No, she has not gone to pieces; but she has gone to the bottom,"
replied Jack. "As I said before, she struck on the tail of the island
and stove in her bow; but the next breaker swung her clear, and she
floated away to leeward. The poor fellows in the boat made a hard
struggle to rea