another sailor, whose eyes seemed
starting out from their deep sockets and whose lips appeared feebly
endeavouring to shape the syllables of "wa-ter!"

In a second, Mr McCarthy had leaped down into the floating coffin as it
towed alongside; and, lifting the body of the solitary survivor from
amidst the corpses of his dead comrades, handed the light load--for the
poor, starved creature did not weigh more than a child of ten, although
a man of over six feet in height--up to hands that as carefully received
him; and then, leaping back again on board himself, the whale-boat was
scuttled by a plank being knocked out of her bottom and cut adrift, to
sink with her mortal freight into the common grave of those who die on
the deep, the stench from the remains being horrible and permeating the
whole ship while the boat was in contact with her.

The rescued sailor was placed in a cot and given at first a small
quantity of thin soup which Snowball was busily concocting for the cabin
dinner, and after that, nourishment at intervals. By these restorative
measures, in a day or two, he recovered sufficiently to be able to tell
who he was and how he came to be in such a sad plight.

He was a Norwegian sailor, he said, and belonged to an American whaler
which had been on her voyage home after a three years' whaling cruise in
the South Pacific. On rounding Cape Horn, they had encountered a
fearful storm which had nearly dismasted the ship and washed the master
and five hands overboard. He and four others had launched the only boat
they had left over the side, trying to pick up their shipmates; but, the
sea was too heavy for them, and when they endeavoured to return, they
found they could not fetch their vessel again, which perhaps was just as
well, for soon afterwards they saw her go down stern foremost. After
that, they ran before the wind for several days and nights--how long he
could not tell--until his four comrades had died from exhaustion, and he
himself, he believed, was just on the point of giving up his life when
providence sent the _Nancy Bell_ to succour him.

"Ach der goot Gott!" said the man in his half German, half English way,
speaking brokenly and with tears in his eyes. "Der lieber Gott! I
shall nevare vergersen sie nevare!"

They had had, he said, a breaker of water in the boat when they quitted
the whaler, but this was soon drunk out, and although they had
occasionally something to eat, catching several fish,