were origin'lly our second mate, he up and
took charge, and navigated us to somewheres about where we are now. But
four nights ago come last night--yes, that's right, it were four nights
ago--'bout three bells in the middle watch, while it were blowin' hard
from the west'ard and we were runnin' under single-reefed topsails, with
a very heavy sea chasin' of us, the night bein' dark and thick with
rain, somebody comes rushin' out of the poop cabin yellin' like mad,
and, afore anybody could stop him, sprang on to the lee rail, just the
fore side of the main riggin', and takes a header overboard!" More
exclamations of astonishment from the listeners, amid which Polson
triumphantly concluded his gruesome narrative by adding: "Of course we
couldn't do nothin', and so the poor feller were lost. And when Chips
and I comed to investigate we found that the unfortunit man were Mr
Masterman, he bein' the only one that was missin'!"

"Well!" ejaculated the skipper, addressing himself to Mr Moore, our
chief mate; "I've heard a good many queer yarns in my time, of maritime
accident and disaster, but this one tops the lot. The captain and both
mates lost in the same voyage, and, so far as the two last are
concerned, by such queer accidents too! Did you,"--turning to
Polson--"find anything in Mr--what's his name!--Masterman's cabin to
account for his extraordinary behaviour in rushing out on deck and
jumping overboard in the middle of the night?"

"No, sir," answered Polson with much simplicity. "He'd been drinkin' a
goodish bit, and there were a half-empty bottle of rum under his piller;
but--"

"A-ah!" ejaculated the skipper with a whole world of emphasis; "that may
account for a good deal. Well, what happened next?"

"Oh, nothin' else haven't happened, thank God!" exclaimed the boatswain
piously. "But ain't that what I've already told ye quite enough, sir?
What's made it so terrible awk'ard for all hands of us is that we're now
without a navigator, and have lost our reckonin'. So, after Chips and I
had confabulated a bit, we comed to the conclusion that, knowin' as we
was well in the track of ships bound to the east'ard, the best thing we
could do was to heave-to and wait until somethin' comed along that could
spare us somebody to navigate the ship for us to Sydney. Chips and I
are men enough to take care of her--to know when to make and when to
shorten sail--but we don't know nothin' about navigation, ye see, sir."

"