d not appear
to have suffered from his long swim, except that he complained of being
very sleepy. I therefore advised him to lie down on the coats and
blankets I had brought on deck to get some rest, while I took his place
at the helm, promising to call him should the breeze freshen and it
become necessary to shorten sail. He agreed and I steered on, now
looking at the compass, now at the canvas, and now all around on the
chance of a vessel appearing from which we might learn our position. I
own that I should have been very unwilling for any one to have come on
board to take the brig into harbour, for we both thought how proud we
should feel if we could carry her in ourselves without help. Still, for
the sake of the owners we could not, we had agreed, refuse assistance
should it be offered us. At last my eyes began to close, and it was
with the greatest difficulty that I could keep them open, or prevent
myself from sinking down on the deck. I was, therefore, very thankful
when I saw Jim begin to move. I uttered his name. He was on his feet
in an instant.

"I'll take a spell at the pump first," he said, rubbing his eyes and
looking round, especially ahead; "then I'll come to the helm."

Talking to him aroused me a little, and I was able to hold on till he
relieved me. I was almost asleep before I sank down on the blanket,
only just hearing him say, "We must keep a bright look-out ahead, for we
ought soon to be making the land."

That sleep did me a great deal of good. We agreed that we would both
take as much as we could during the day, that we might be more
wide-awake at night. I had observed that there was something on Jim's
mind, and while we were at supper, soon after sunset, I asked him what
it was.

"Why, you see, as I said afore, I wish that our old skipper was, somehow
or other, out of the ship. Now if you are willing, Peter, I'll sew him
up all comfortable like in an old sail, with a pig of iron at the feet;
and as you are a better scholar than I am, you can say the prayers over
him while we lower him overboard, and to my mind he'll be just as well
off as he would be ashore."

I reminded Jim that he had before consented to our keeping the body as
long as we could, but knowing that his superstitious ideas induced him
to make the proposal, and that he was really uncomfortable, I agreed to
bury our skipper at the end of three days if we did not by that time
sight the land.

The night and another