"She must have fouled the other boat, sir, and without doubt both of the crews went to Davy Jones together. The skipper had been in the big boat. Poor chap! he leaves a young wife and three pretty kids.
"Our hearts sunk down, down after this. No one cared to speak much above his breath, and I noticed more'n once that day, cap'n, the tears quietly streamin' over the cheeks of a young sailor. Our fate, we feared, would be worse by far than that of our other brave shipmates.
"I told out a watch-shell of rum all round at eight bells, and we were a little heartened after this.
"But now, cap'n, the wind began to rise and moan over the sea once more, and though it was right for us, if it increased we couldn't keep her long afloat. Well, what does we do, sir, but tie two jackets together to make a sail, and bent them on two oars.
"The poor fellows were half-dead now, and couldn't have rowed two hours longer. After a rest and a kind of dreamy doze, we found the wind still higher, and the seas breakin' on board of us all the time.
"Nothing for it now but bail her out. We had two pannikins and our sou'-westers, and wi' these we just managed to keep her afloat till the second dog-watch.
"Another little tot o' rum at eight, and when the sea and most o' the wind went down we bailed her out once more, and then just tumbled down in the bottom, wet, shivery, wretched.
"When day dawned, and there was still no sail nor land in sight, we kind o' gave up in despair. The young sailor,—Tom Ball were his name,—sort of went dotty, cap'n, and tried to eat the flesh oft the ball of his thumb. I gave him four watch-shells of rum, and he sunk like a wet swab down between the thwarts. Bill Jones took off his own coat and covered him up.
"We suffered more from thirst than hunger, though, and Tom had drunk salt water, which sent him nearly mad, you see. So none o' the others touched it.
"I dozed again several times that day, and always my dreams, cap'n, was the self-same. I was wanderin' among beautiful woods, near my own old home in Berkshire, birds was singin' in the trees, there was wild flowers all along the banks of a stream, and again and again I stooped to drink, then all became dark and dreadful and I awoke with a shriek.