oo, was obliged to give up; and so, one after the other,
they all succumbed, until only Dumaresq and myself were left; and we had
not been tugging at the oars five minutes when the Frenchman cried:

"It is no good, _mon ami_; I am `gastados', as the Spaniards say; I am
expended, worn out!" He rose to his feet; staggered heavily aft, and
sank down in the stern-sheets with a groan and a gasping cry of:

"Water! water! For the love of God give me a mouthful of water, or I
shall die!"

The poor fellow had, of course, been receiving the same allowance as the
rest of us; and the small quantity of putrid fluid now remaining in the
bottom of our breaker was of such priceless value that I could not give
him any more without inflicting a grievous injustice and injury upon the
rest; nevertheless, I could not sit there and see him die; so I drew a
single allowance from the cask--explaining to the men as well as my own
parched throat would allow, that I would forego my own allowance next
time that it was due--and, raising his head, I poured it into his mouth,
bitterly grudging him every drop, I am ashamed to say, as I did so.
There was only enough to just moisten his cracked lips and his dry,
black tongue; but, such as it was, it seemed to revive him somewhat,
and, squeezing my hand gratefully, he settled himself more comfortably
on the thwart, and presently appeared to sink into a state of semi-
unconsciousness that perhaps partially served in place of sleep.

I would gladly have followed his example if I could, but it was
impossible. My stubborn constitution seemed to defy the destructive
wear and tear of prolonged hunger and thirst; but my sufferings were
beyond the power of language to portray; my craving hunger was so
intense that I believe I could have eaten and enjoyed any food, however
revolting, could I but have obtained it; while my thirst was so
overpowering that it was with the utmost difficulty I combated the
temptation to open a vein and moisten my parched and burning tongue and
throat with my own blood. Equally difficult was it to resist the
temptation to take a long, cool, satisfying draught of the salt-water
that lapped so tantalisingly against the sides of the boat, and
shimmered so temptingly in the starlight all around me; but I knew what
the consequences of such an act would be, and, by the resolute exercise
of all the will power remaining to me I contrived to overcome the
longing. Yet so excruciating wa