"Well, my friend, what is going to become of us?" asked the doctor.
"Who can say?" answered Johnson.
"At any rate," continued the doctor, "don't let us give way to despair; let us be men!"
"Yes, Doctor," answered the old sailor, "you are right; it's when matters look worst that we most need courage; we are in a bad way; we must see how we can best get out of it."
"Poor ship!" said the doctor, sighing; "I had become attached to it; I had got to look on it as on my own home, and there's not left a piece that can be recognized!"
"Who would think, Doctor, that this mass of dust and ashes could be so dear to our heart?"
"And the launch," continued the doctor, gazing around, "was it destroyed too?"
"No, Doctor; Shandon and the others, who left, took it with them."
"And the gig?"