customed odour floating in
the air? My nostrils became distended, and I could scarcely suppress a
cry of astonishment; but some instinct kept me quiet, and I laid myself
down again with the puzzled sensation sometimes experienced when we
have forgotten a word or name. Only a few minutes, however, had elapsed
before another still more savoury puff induced me to take several
long inhalations. Suddenly, the truth seemed to dash across my mind.
"Surely," I muttered to myself "this must be cooked meat that I can
smell."

Again and again I sniffed and became more convinced than ever that my
senses were not deceiving me. But from what part of the raft could the
smell proceed? I rose to my knees, and having satisfied myself that the
odour came from the front, I crept stealthily as a cat under the sails
and between the spars in that direction. Following the promptings of
my scent, rather than my vision, like a bloodhound in the track of his
prey, I searched everywhere I could, now finding, now losing, the smell
according to my change of position, or the dropping of the wind. At
length I got the true scent; once for all, so that I could go straight
to the object for which I was in search.

Approaching the starboard angle of the raft, I came to the conclusion
that the smell that had thus keenly excited my cravings was the smell
of smoked bacon; the membranes of my tongue almost bristled with the
intenseness of my longing.

Crawling along a little farther, under a thick roll of sail-cloth, I was
not long in securing my prize. Forcing my arm below the roll, I felt my
hand in contact with something wrapped up in paper. I clutched it up,
and carried it off to a place where I could examine it by the help
of the light of the moon that had now made its appearance above the
horizon. I almost shrieked for joy. It was a piece of bacon. True,
it did not weigh many ounces, but small as it was it would suffice to
alleviate the pangs of hunger for one day at least. I was just on the
point of raising it to my mouth, when a hand was laid upon my arm. It
was only by a most determined effort that I kept myself from screaming
out one instant more, and I found myself face to face with Hobart.

In a moment I understood all. Plainly this rascal Hobart had saved some
provision from the wreck, upon which he had been subsisting ever since.
The steward had provided for himself, whilst all around him were dying
of starvation. Detestable wretch! This acc