“Let us not dwell upon that,� said I. “Let us hope that nothing will happen.�
She nodded her head.
“Now,� I continued, “I am going to ask you a strange thing.�
She looked at me fearlessly and the trust and confidence of her next words repaid all my efforts a thousandfold.
“You can ask me anything you like,� she said instantly.
“I am frightfully weary. I shall need what strength I have for the work of the night. The breeze is gentle and fair. There is no likelihood that it will change. All you have to do is to keep the boat on its course and awaken me if anything should change. Will you try it and help me thus far? I must have some sleep.�
“I understand perfectly,� was her brave and direct reply, “and you can go to sleep with perfect confidence. I will watch over you and the boat as best I can, God helping me. You know, I slept most of the night, myself, and I feel in no need of rest now.�
With my cutlass I broke open a cocoanut, the milk and meat of which refreshed us both, and then, as I was, I threw myself down on the bottom of the boat, a hard bed, but one made soft by great weariness and want of sleep. The last thing I remember was the picture of Mistress Wilberforce, beautiful in her disarray, sitting in the stern sheets, holding the tiller in one hand and the sheet in the other, looking down upon me with a gaze I did not dare to think upon. I had no idea how weary I was, for I was asleep almost instantly, and it was five o’clock according to my watch before she awakened me with a touch of her little foot.
Although I was strained and stiff from the cramped position and the hard planking on which I lay, I knew that a stretch or two would fix me and I was greatly refreshed by my sleep and ready for a giant’s work.
“I had to wake you,� she said, reluctantly I thought, “because the island is in sight, and—�