Vivian expressed a tender and earnest thankfulness, and they parted long after midnight.
The next morning brought no occasion for hope. The water in the hold steadily increased, and the gale showed little abatement. In every direction there was nothing but an endless gray waste of boiling waves, which seemed hungry and impatient to swallow up the stricken ship. The weary hours of the second day dragged along with interminable slowness, and the impenetrable gloom of outward conditions had no ray to lighten it. The strain and fatigue brought such a torpor of stolid indifference upon the crew, that to some death would have been almost welcome. Desperate but wholly unsuccessful attempts were made to draw down some remnants of sail upon the outside to lessen the inflow, but the water in the hold gained with fateful certainty.
As the day finally wore away, the force of the tempest slowly lessened, making their progress less rapid. Even at the present rate, it would be impossible to reach Tarsus before the middle of the following day, and a careful survey made it a matter of great doubt whether or not the Salapiæ could float until the next daybreak.
The master again called Serenus upon deck, giving him an affectionate greeting.
“O my brother! unless peradventure a miracle be wrought, I can discern no manner of means for the fulfilment of thy prophecy! I wot not how the Salapiæ in any wise can reach the desired haven. But while I cannot descry the end of thy good message, I have joy in thinking of the Ideal, and of feeling an earnest of the same spirit within.”
“I rejoice with thee that thou dost recognize the living Witness!”
“But O most worthy brother and prophet! peradventure we be saved from this present peril, some other expedience will yet bring us to our end. How sayest thou?”
“There is no end! If my prophecy prove vain, and we sink in the depths of the sea, behold that spirit which is within us, and which we are, hath continuance.”
“It seemeth to be a great mystery!”
“Behold thou hast a body, but art not body! Thou art spirit even now. If thy seen form dissolve, thou wilt still live, even though in the invisible! Thou wilt see, but not with these eyes; thou wilt hear and feel, but not with these members; yea, thou wilt think and know and love!”