d make it distinguishable for what it was.

The news that the stranger in sight was flying a signal of distress soon
spread among the passengers, and in a few minutes every telescope in the
cuddy was upon the poop and being eagerly focused upon the approaching
vessel, which had by this time revealed herself as a full-rigged ship of
some 800 tons measurement, of wholesome, motherly build, but certainly
not a whaler, as could be seen by the model of the boats which she
carried, and by the absence of certain characteristics which proclaim
the whaler, and are apparent almost from the moment when she heaves into
full view. There was, naturally, a vast amount of speculation, not only
on the part of the skipper and mate, but also among our passengers, as
to the precise character of her distress; but probably not one of us
came anywhere near guessing at its extraordinary nature.

Approaching each other, as the two vessels were, it did not take us very
long to close with the stranger; and as we drew near to her it became
apparent that her people were preparing to lower a boat. At the proper
moment, therefore, our mainyard was laid aback, the stranger followed
suit, and a minute or two later the two craft came to a stand abreast of
each other, the stranger about a hundred fathoms to windward of us, near
enough, indeed, for us to read with the unaided eye the name _Mercury_
upon her head-boards. Then one of her two port quarter boats was
lowered and hauled to the gangway, and with three men pulling, and one
in the stern-sheets grasping the yoke lines, she shoved off and pulled
away towards us, the mate hailing them to come to the lee gangway, where
a side ladder had been dropped over for their use. Her main deck was
crowded with people--men and women--all hanging over the rail and
staring at us with that idle curiosity which is so characteristic of the
uneducated classes. Mr Bryce at once unhesitatingly pronounced them to
be emigrants, an opinion which the skipper as unhesitatingly endorsed.

The men in the approaching boat were all forecastle hands, the one
steering having the appearance of being either the boatswain or the
carpenter of the ship, and this it was that gave me--and no doubt the
skipper and mate also--the first specific hint of what was actually
wrong aboard the stranger. Nothing, however, was said; and presently,
when the boat came rounding under our stern, Captain Martin and Mr
Bryce descended to the main d