rest?"
exclaimed Smith, as he saw their diminished numbers. "Only a short
distance inshore of us," was the answer. "They have not left the wreck
five minutes."

"Alas! but in those five minutes the poor fellows may have sunk fathoms
down, or been grasped by the jaws of the hungry sharks," thought Smith,
as he instantly pulled away in the direction indicated.

His four shipmates were found not far apart, each of them lashed to an
oar, and striking out as well as they could for the shore; but, strange
to say, only one of them could swim at all.

It was then past nine o'clock, making nearly five hours that the poor
fellows had held on to the boat, with all the horrors of death staring
them in the face; for of course they were not aware that Smith and
Palmes had reached the shore, and indeed had begun to fear that they
were already numbered with the dead. Their pleasure, and--we believe,
their gratitude--was increased when they discovered that both had
escaped, and had been the means under Providence of preserving their
lives.

Their sufferings had been very great. When the storm came on, they
expected every moment to be washed from the wreck; and, to add to their
horrors, a shark had been for most of the time lying between the masts
of the pinnace, his fiery eyes glaring up at them, and watching them, as
about soon to become his prey. Had it not, indeed, been for Smith's
coolness and skill as a swimmer, and for the generous daring of Palmes,
in all human probability every soul must have perished. The
circumstances we have narrated having been represented to the Royal
Humane Society, the silver medallion of the Society, with a
complimentary letter, was sent out, and presented on the quarter-deck of
the _Seringapatam_, by Captain Leith, to each of the two young officers,
in the presence of the whole ship's company,--a suitable and gratifying
reward for their gallantry, in addition to that their own consciences
could not fail to afford.

Some years after the events I have just described, Mr W.R. Smith,
having reached the rank of lieutenant, belonged to HMS _Endymion_. On
the 4th of February 1847, she was at anchor off Sacraficios Island, near
Vera Cruz. The night of the 4th was excessively dark, and a strong
current was running past the ship, when Mr West, mate, slipped his foot
from the gangway, and fell into the sea, striking his head against the
ship's side. On the cry of "A man overboard!" which was instan