"Where am I?" he whispered.

"You're safe," Jack replied. "How do you feel?"

"I'll be all right in a minute. The ship? Did it—"

"Yes, she went down," Jack told him.

The captain closed his eyes and for a moment did not move. Then he again opened them and, in a much stronger voice, asked:

"How did I get in this boat?"

"Why, we put you in."

"But the others?"

"They're in another boat."

"They didn't wait?"