ad of her foresail?" asked
the mate. "It looks to me like one we put in when we were last at the
Sandwich Islands. To be sure it's where the sail is likely to get worn,
and another vessel may have had one put in like it, still, the
_Intrepid's_ foresail had just such a patch as that."

"What! Do you mean to say that she's the _Intrepid_?" exclaimed the
doctor, interrupting him.

"I mean to say that she's very like her, if she's not her," answered the
mate.

We all of us now looked with even greater eagerness than before at the
approaching vessel.

"Let draw the foresail," cried the mate.

We stood on so that we might be in the best possible position for
running alongside the whaler, for such she was, as soon as she hove-to.

"We're seen!--we're seen!" shouted several of our crew.

We waved our hats, and shouted.

"She is the _Intrepid_!" cried Mr Griffiths.

Presently she came to the wind, and we, lowering our sail and getting
out our oars, were soon alongside her. There stood Captain Hawkins--
there the second mate, with many other faces we knew. I never saw
people look so astonished as we sprang up the side, while our boat was
hooked on and hoisted on board.

"Why, Griffiths!--Cockle! Where have you come from?" exclaimed Captain
Hawkins. "I had given you up for lost long ago."

They gave a brief account of our adventures, but there was not much time
for talking, for we had not been aboard five minutes before all hands
were employed in shortening sail, and the gale came down upon us with
even greater strength than on the previous night. Had we been exposed
to it in our open boat there would have been little chance of our
escape. We had thus much reason to be thankful to Heaven that we had
got aboard in time.

There being plenty of sea room, the _Intrepid_ was hove-to. Even as it
was, the sea broke aboard and carried away one of her boats and did
other damage. She had been nearly wrecked on the reef during the gale
when we were on the island; and Captain Hawkins, believing that we had
been lost, stood for Guam, where he had been detained for want of proper
workmen and fresh hands. Had it not been for this she would long before
have been on her homeward voyage.

For some time I felt very strange on board, often when half asleep
fancying myself still in the boat, and the air below seemed close and
oppressive.

The mate declared that he had caught cold from sleeping in a bed after
not having