194 7rrr STRANT)

nind. Youw'll need to make something tast to the bodyv to sink 1t Who's to

handle 1t 7 'l ask no man to do what | wouldi't do mysclfy and rat me il I'd do al

“We brought the porson aboard by visit- g the raft, bo'sun,” said 1. “ Best leave the thing alone. to corrupt the airy, s you suppose ; thoueh the imagination’s nigh as bad as the reality,” said 1, spitting.

I there’s any of them game to sink the thing, may they do itz said the boat- swain., C lFor il wind to come while it's there——

“ Chaw D7 said the mate. But try "o, thvou will. They may take the boat when the moon'’s up, should there come no wind frst,”

An hour Tater the steward told me that two ol the sarlors werce scized with cramps and convulsions, After this no more was said about taking the boat and siking the body. The mate went into the forecastle. On his return, he begeed mc to go and look at the 11,

“Better make sure that 1t's cholera with them too, sir,” said he, " You know the

1 and, foldimge his arms, he leaned acainst the bulwarks - posture of pro- lound dejection,

I went forward and descended the fore- ~cuttle, and found my- ol ina small cave, The heat was over- powering ;o there was no alr to pass througl the hittle hatch ;o the place was dimlyhehted by an o evil-smelling lamp hangie under a beam, but, poor as the Hlummation was, | could sce by oty and when I looked at the two men and spoke to tham, T saw how 1t was, and came away sick at heart, and halt dead with the hot foul air of the fore- castle, and in dcevest distress of mind,

'y

. vy ST

T'he corpse 13 too far off

there's ne'er a breceze ol

MW AGAZINE,

morcover, through perceiving that the twe men had formed a part of the crew of the boat when we visited the raft.

One died at six o'clock next morning, and the other at noon ; but before this sceond man was dead three others had been attacked, and one of them was the mate. And still never a breath of air tirred the silver surface of the sea.

The mate was a strong man, and his fear ol death made the conflict dreadful to bebold. T was paralvsed at first by the suddenness of the thing and the tremen- dous character of our calamity, and, never doubting that T must speedily prove a victim as being one who had gone in the boat, T cast mysclf down upon o sofa in the cabin and there sat, waiting for the frst signal - of - pain, somctimes praying, or striving to - pray, and sceking hard to

L4

IOSAW HOW 1T WAS

accustom my mind to the fate I regarded as inevitable. But a keen and biting sensc ol my cowardice came to my recscue. I sprang to my feet and went to the mate's