ut.

"At last they have knocked off," thought I; "they are now gone to bed;
but surely it must be near daybreak, though day has not yet broken, else
I should see some light through the aperture. Well! I shall try to go
to sleep again myself."

I laid me down as before, and endeavoured to compose myself to sleep.
In about an hour's time I had well-nigh succeeded in doing so, when the
thumping of the boxes re-commenced, and roused me up afresh.

"What? they are at it again! Surely they cannot have been to sleep?--an
hour--it was not worth their while to lie down for an hour."

I listened to assure myself that they had really set about work again.
There could be no doubt of it. I could hear the clinking and clanking,
and the creaking of the pulley-blocks just as before, only not quite so
loud.

"Well," thought I, "it is a strange crew, working thus all night long.
Ha! on second thoughts, perhaps it is a fresh set who are at it--another
watch that has relieved the former one?"

This was probable enough, and the conjecture satisfied me. But I could
no more compose myself to sleep, and lay listening.

Still they worked on, and I could hear the noises through the longest
night I ever remember. Several hours they had kept at it, and then
there was a pause of about an hour, and then I heard the work
progressing as before, and as yet there were no signs of morning--not a
ray of light came near me!

I began to fancy I was dreaming, and that those spells of work that
seemed to last for hours were only of minutes' duration. And yet, if
they were only minutes, I must have been gifted with a strange appetite,
for no less than three times had I fallen ferociously upon my
provisions, until my stock was well-nigh exhausted.

At length the noises ceased altogether, and for several hours I did not
hear them. During this interval there was almost complete silence above
and around me, in the midst of which I again fell asleep.

When I awoke, my ears were once more greeted with sounds, but these were
quite of another character from those I had before been listening to.
They were to me sounds of joy, for I at once recognised the well-known
"crik-crik-crik" of a windlass, and the rattling of a great chain. Down
where I was, in the hold, I did not hear these noises very distinctly,
but enough so to know what was going on above. _They were weighing the
anchor; the ship was about to sail_!

I could scarce restrain myself fro