”‘We may thank our stars for that,’ said I. ‘And I say, Bill, if we hold out till morning, and it comes on calm, maybe we shall find some of the pearls, and after all it won’t be so bad a job for us.’
”‘Don’t talk of the pearls,’ he answered, with a groan. ‘I wish that I had never been tempted to try to get them. The captain and the rest have got their deserts, and I would not touch one of them, gained as they were by cruelty and fraud, if they were to be washed up into my hands.’
”‘I only wish I could catch sight of some of the boxes with the chance of getting them,’ said I. ‘And if you were to do so, Bill, I would not trust to your good resolutions.’
”‘I don’t want to talk about the matter,’ answered Bill, gloomily. ‘What chance have we of getting away from the wreck? we may be miles off from the shore, for what I know.’
”‘If the wind goes down, we may build a raft and reach the land, or may be a vessel will pass by and take us off. If not, and it breezes up again, we shall be in a bad case.’
“Bill groaned again.
”‘I am not prepared to die,’ he exclaimed. ‘I would give anything to get on shore.’
”‘You haven’t anything to give,’ said I. ‘So you had better make up your mind to brave it out, just as I mean to do. I wish that I could get at some liquor, though; that would keep up our spirits better than anything else.’
“Bill groaned again.