e obliged to go about and pull in various directions in quest of
Boyton, whom they missed for more than a quarter of an hour.

After nine o'clock the most exciting and anxious moments of the entire
trip were experienced by all concerned. With the wind blowing violently,
the current driving fast to the westward and a high sea increasing every
moment, Paul was lost sight of for nearly forty minutes, in an
unusually heavy overfall. It is not to be wondered at that under these
most trying circumstances, the boat's crew, having nothing to eat, and
exhausted by the fatigues of the day, after pulling about for a
considerable time, should have dropped the oars accompanying the action
with language more forcible than elegant. Happily the cessation of their
labor was of short duration, for they soon yielded to the admonitions
and entreaties of Boyton's friends, who sought by every possible means
to buoy up their spirits, although they, as well as the crew, were of
the opinion that any further attempt to find Paul would be utterly
futile. The joy of all may easily be imagined when they heard the echo
of a distant hail, amid the roaring of the wind and hissing of the
seething water, that once more restored their hope and confidence in
him and announced after all that he had not been lost beyond, recovery.
A little more pulling in the right direction brought the boat alongside
of him, when, despite the entreaties of the crew and the great risks he
was running, he refused to get on board, but continued with undaunted
courage and characteristic firmness in his endeavor to accomplish the
daring task.

Boyton was missed for the last time and found again about 10:30 o'clock.
At that time the severe strain he had imposed upon himself began to be
felt, for when within hearing distance he stated that he had fallen
asleep for a few moments and had been unceremoniously awakened by a
sea breaking over him with such force on the side of the head as almost
to stun him. The crew now expressed their thorough appreciation
and admiration for Boyton's intrepidity and powers of endurance, and
declared he had done as much as to cross the straits three times over in
point of distance; but he persistently turned a deaf ear to their
entreaties to get into the boat. At 11:20 o'clock the bay of Tangier
opened ahead and the force of the current began to abate. They were
rapidly approaching Tangier reef, which was a source