araffe of water on the table
before him.

Wylie drank a wineglassful neat, and gave a sort of sigh of satisfaction.
And then ensued a dialogue, in which, curiously enough, the brave man was
agitated, and the timid man was cool and collected. But one reason was,
the latter had not imagination enough to realize things unseen, though he
had caused them.

Wylie told him how Hudson got to the bottle, and would not leave the
ship. "I think I see him now, with his cutlass in one hand, and his rum
bottle in the other, and the waves running over his poor, silly face, as
she went down. Poor Hiram! he and I had made many a trip together, before
we took to this."

And Wylie shuddered, and took another gulp at the brandy.

While he was drinking to drown the picture, Wardlaw was calmly reflecting
on the bare fact. "Hum," said he, "we must use that circumstance. I'll
get it into the journals. Heroic captain. Went down with the ship. Who
can suspect Hudson in the teeth of such a fact? Now pray go on, my good
Wylie. The boats!"

"Well, sir, I had the surgeon, and ten men, and the lady's maid, on board
the long-boat; and there was the parson, the sick lady, and five sailors
aboard the cutter. We sailed together, till night, steering for Juan
Fernandez; then a fog came on and we lost sight of the cutter, and I
altered my mind and judged it best to beat to win'ard, and get into the
track of ships. Which we did, and were nearly swamped in a sou' wester;
but, by good luck, a Yankee whaler picked us up, and took us to Buenos
Ayres, where we shipped for England, what was left of us, only four,
besides myself; but I got the signatures of the others to my tale of the
wreck. It is all as square as a die, I tell you."

"Well done. Well done. But, stop! the other boat, with that sham parson
on board, who knows all. She will be picked up, too, perhaps."

"There is no chance for that. She was out of the tracks of trade; and,
I'll tell ye the truth, sir." He poured out half a tumbler of brandy, and
drank a part of it; and, now, for the first time, his hand trembled as he
lifted the glass. "Some fool had put the main of her provisions aboard
the longboat; that is what sticks to me, and won't let me sleep. We took
a chance, but we didn't give one. I think I told you there was a woman
aboard the cutter, that sick girl, sir. Oh, but it was hard lines for
her, poor thing! I see her pale and calm; oh, Lord, so pale and calm;
every night of my life;