from under me, and I found myself being dragged down beneath the
surface. Then I lost consciousness, and knew no more until I awoke to
find myself afloat in this life-buoy. I have been wondering how I came
to be in such a singular position. Can you by any chance enlighten me?"

"Well, to be perfectly candid, I put you there," answered Leslie. "I
recognised from the first that, with the mad panic prevailing on board,
there would be no possibility of utilising the boats; so I took the
precaution to provide myself with a life-buoy, in which I jumped
overboard. Like you, I was of course dragged under by the suction of
the ship, as she went down; and, like you, I lost consciousness, though
not, I think, for very long. And when I recovered my senses I found
myself once more afloat, with a fold of your dress in my grasp. So, as
the simplest means of relieving myself of the fatigue of supporting you,
I placed you in the buoy, not needing it myself, since I am a strong
swimmer, and can support myself for practically any length of time in
the water."

"From which it would appear that I am indebted to you for the
circumstance that I am alive at the present moment," commented Miss
Trevor. "I suppose I ought to be profoundly grateful to you; but--"

"Excuse me for interrupting you," broke in Leslie, "but if I am not
greatly mistaken there is something floating out there that may be of
use to us. I will tow you to it. In our present circumstances we must
avail ourselves of everything that affords us an opportunity to better
our condition."

CHAPTER TWO.

PICKED UP.

The object that had attracted Leslie's notice proved to be one of the
hencoops belonging to the _Golden Fleece_, that had broken adrift when
the ship went down, and returned to the surface. There was another
floating at no great distance, so, having towed Miss Trevor, in her
life-buoy, to the first, and directed her to hold on to it for a few
minutes, he swam on to the second, which, with some difficulty, he got
alongside the first. The lashings of both were fortunately intact, the
cleats to which the coops were secured having torn away from the deck;
Leslie therefore temporarily secured the two coops to each other,
intending, as soon as daylight appeared, to lash them properly together
in such a manner as, he hoped, would form a fairly useful raft. During
the progress of this small business, the conversation between the two
people thus strangely