"There was still a good supply of rum, and I took a swig at the bottle, and then, whether because of the cold or the rum, I don't know, but I fell sound asleep in front of the blaze.
"I woke up numbed with cold.
"The fire was nearly out, and the first thing I did was to make it up.
"Then, after heating myself a drop of grog, I fell to wondering what had become of my comrades.
"I stumbled along the passage, which felt as cold as the grave, and there, just as you see them now, sat our cap'n and his crew, frozen to death.
"The fire in the stove was out, and the companion door open.
"I took up one of the bodies, after I had recovered my nerve a bit, and dragged it along the passage into the kitchen.
"But I could not restore it to life, though I tried hard.
"So you see, sir, here have I been—Heaven in mercy! what's that?"
The sick sailor had risen to his feet.