and three nights had been
passed in prayer, and in the most fearful apprehensions as to the fate
of the _Nelson_ and her crew.

Nothing in the horizon as yet indicated that the thunders were tired
of roaring, the clouds of rending themselves asunder, the winds of
howling, or the waves of frantically beating on the cliffs.

Towards evening the ladies had retired to the sick-room with a view of
seeking some repose. Becker, Willis, and the young men bivouacked in
the hall, where some mattresses and bear-skins had been laid down.
Here it was arranged that, for the common safety, each during the
night should watch in turn. But about two in the morning, Ernest had
no sooner relieved Fritz than, fatigue overcoming his sense of duty,
the poor fellow fell comfortably asleep, and he was soon perfectly
unconscious of all that was passing around him.

Becker awoke first--it was broad daylight. "Where is Willis?" he
cried, on getting up.

"Holloa!" exclaimed Fritz, running towards the magazine, "the canoe
has disappeared!"

In an instant all were on their feet.

"Some one of you has fallen asleep then," said Becker to his children;
"for when the pilot watched I watched with him, and never lost sight
of him for a moment."

"I am the culprit," said Ernest; "and if any mischief arises out of
this imprudence, I shall never forgive myself. But who could have
dreamt of any one being foolhardy enough to attempt the rescue of a
ship in a nutshell that scarcely holds two persons?"

"I pray Heaven that your sleepy-headedness may not result in the loss
of human life! You see, my son, that there is no amount of duty, be it
ever so trifling in importance, that can be neglected with impunity.
It is the concurrent devotion of each, and the sacrifices of one for
another, that constitutes and secures the mutual security. Society on
a small, as on a large scale, is a chain of which each individual is a
link, and when one fails the whole is broken."

"I will go after him," said Ernest.

"Fritz and I will go with you," added Frank.

"No," said Ernest; "I alone am guilty, and I wish alone to remedy my
fault--that is, as far as possible."

"I could not hide the canoe," observed Fritz, "but I hid the oars, and
I find them in their place."

"That, perhaps, will have prevented him embarking," remarked one of
the boys.

"A man like Willis," replied Becker, "is not prevented carrying out
his intentions by such obstacles; he will have taken