referring to her own words, "this poor bird had wings,
yet death overtook her."

He sacrificed a bowl for fuel, and boiled the duck and the crab in one
pot, and Miss Rolleston ate demurely but plentifully of both. Of the
crab's shell he made a little drinking-vessel for Miss Rolleston.

Cooper remained without funeral rites all this time; the reason was that
Welch lay with his head pillowed upon his dead friend, and Hazel had not
the heart to disturb him.

But it was the survivors' duty to commit him to the deep, and so Hazel
sat down by Welch, and asked him kindly whether he would not wish the
services of the Church to be read over his departed friend.

"In course, sir," said Welch. But the next moment he took Hazel's
meaning, and said hurriedly, "No, no; I can't let Sam be buried in the
sea. Ye see, sir, Sam and I, we are used to one another, and I can't
abide to part with him, alive or dead."

"Ah!" said Hazel, "the best friends must part when death takes one."

"Ay, ay, when t'other lives. But, Lord bless you, sir! I shan't be long
astarn of my messmate here; can't you see that?"

"Heaven forbid!" said Hazel, surprised and alarmed. "Why, you are not
wounded mortally, as Cooper was. Have a good heart, man, and we three
will all see old England yet."

"Well, sir," said Welch, coolly, "I'll tell ye. Me and my shipmate,
Prince, was a cutting at one another with our knives a smart time (and I
do properly wonder, when I think of that day's work, for I liked the man
well enough, but rum atop of starvation plays hell with seafaring men),
well, sir, as I was a saying, he let more blood out of me than I could
afford to lose under the circumstances. And, ye see, I can't make fresh
blood, because my throat is so swelled by the drought I can't swallow
much meat, so I'm safe to lose the number of my mess; and, another thing,
my heart isn't altogether set toward living. Sam, here, he give me an
order; what, didn't ye hear him? 'I'll lie to outside the bar,' says he,
'till you come out.' He expects me to come out in his wake. Don't ye,
Sam--that was?" and he laid his hand gently on the remains. "Now, sir, I
shall ax the lady and you a favor. I want to lie alongside Sam. But if
you bury him in the sea, and me ashore, why, d--n my eyes if I shan't be
a thousand years or so before I can find my own messmate. Etarnity is a
'nation big place, I'm told, a hundred times as big as both oceans. No,
sir; you'll make land, by Sam's r