"'Mate, we must cast lots who shall die, or shall we chance it and kill the young un?"
"I knew this man would soon be a raving maniac, so I gave him four more shells of the rum; then he slept.
"Another sunset.
"Another weary night begun.
"I prayed then, cap'n, as I'd never prayed before, that God in his mercy would let us pass from life before we woke.
"Then once more I dozed, once more I dreamt, and again the green summer woods all a-wavin' in the sunshine, the bird-song and the purlin' brook.
"But I had not slept long ere I was aroused. It was the young Tom Ball shriekin' in a strange high-pitched voice—for his throat was as dry as emery paper.
"'Mate, mate, mate!'
"'Yes, yes, here am I, boy.'
"'A ship, sir,—away down yonder!"