It wasn't his fault," said Grant trying to quiet the excited negro.

"It was! It was!" Sam fairly shouted, at the same time trying to stand
up in the skiff.

"Sit down, Sam," ordered Fred sharply.

"Ah won't sit down," the cook cried menacingly. "Ah won't do nothin' if
dat Finn am gwine git in dis heah boat. Ah tells yo' all we's had enough
hard luck on account of dat man."

"You'll sit down or get out of the boat," said Grant threateningly. "We
won't take any fooling here either."

Sam subsided, but he still mumbled to himself incessantly.

"All right, get aboard," John called to Petersen, though he took care
not to call him by name.

Petersen threw the painter and jumped into the stern of the life-boat.
The four oarsmen dug their blades into the water and the little craft
shot forward. The other boats had also left and the _Josephine_ was
now a blazing mass of wood. Sparks shot high into the air and in all
directions only to fall with a hiss into the angry waters of the sea.
The roar of the flames could be heard even above the noise of the storm
which seemed to be increasing in intensity.

The four boys rowed a couple of hundred yards away from the burning brig
and then rested on their oars and watched the destruction of the ship on
which they had expected to go to South America. She was entirely
enveloped in flames now and presented a wonderful but terrible sight as
she was rapidly being devoured by the hungry fire.

All the occupants but one of the boat watched the fire. That one was
Sam. He still remained huddled in the bow and never once did he look
back. He moaned and groaned and raved until the rest of the party began
to think that perhaps he was losing his mind.

Farther and farther from the burning ship drifted the tiny boat. All
that the crew of it could do was to keep the stern straight into the
waves and straighten her out when a great roller sent them flying. Lower
and lower appeared the hull of the _Josephine_, when an occasional
glimpse could be had of her from the crest of some huge wave. At length
she disappeared, entirely burned to the water's edge, and thus came the
end of another brave ship. One more was added to the great ocean
graveyard, already thick with the bones of many a gallant merchantman.

"She's gone," said George soberly.

"Yes," said John, "and what's going to happen to us?"

"We may be picked up," exclaimed Fred hopefully.

"And we may not," added Grant.

"Do you know