il-yard by the braces, ran aloft, cast off the
gaskets that held the sail, descended to the deck, where I sheeted home
the topsail as well as possible, and carried the halyards through a
leading block to the capstan, on which I hove away until I had lifted
the yard as high as my strength allowed. Next I ran up the jib, sheeted
it down, and raced aft to the wheel. I put the tiller up, and the old
bucket at once answered her helm. When I got her fairly before the wind
I lashed the wheel, and seeing that she would steer herself, with only a
little watching, I got to work at the pumps.

By the time night arrived I had sunk the water in the hold to half its
original depth. Then I settled away the topsail and let it hang. The jib
I left standing, knowing that it would help to keep the vessel out of
the trough, even if it did little or no good in the way of forcing the
bark ahead. The weather promised to continue clear and moderate, so I
built a fire in the galley range, brought a quantity of stores from the
pantry, and made a hearty meal. I "turned in all standing," as seamen
say when they go to bed without undressing, and slept long and heavily.

The next morning I again set my topsail, and scudded away to leeward
while I finished clearing the bark of water.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. I had gone up on the little
top-gallant-forecastle to have a look at the _Mercedes_ ground-tackle,
when I made out, about two points on the bow, and less than a mile away,
a ship's boat filled with men. They had discovered the bark, for they
were pulling to get in her path. As soon as I appeared to them there was
a waving of hats and a confusion of cheers and calls. By the time that I
had settled away the topsail-halyards and pulled the jib down the boat
was alongside, and her late occupants were tumbling over the rail. The
first one to touch the deck was a fat little man, almost as swarthy as a
Malay, and twice as dirty, who wore enormous gold hoops in his ears, and
a dilapidated red fez upon a mop of greasy black hair. He rushed up to
me so wild with excitement that he kept hopping up and down like a
jumping-jack, while he smote his breast and screamed something in
Portuguese.

I shook my head and said, thumping my own breast, "No speakee
Portuguese; me American!"

At this he yelled, accompanying his words with such a tremendous smiting
of his poor ribs that I thought he would beat them in.

"Me speakee Americano! Me C