ears until I arrived at the incident of the
burning Indiaman, the boat-voyage, the pursuit of the strange ship, the
gale, and our subsequent sufferings from thirst and starvation. And, as
the remembrance of the final horrors of that awful experience returned
to me, my thirst seemed to return with it, and I cried aloud for water,
feeling surprised, as I did so, to find that my voice had returned to
me, and that my throat, tongue, and lips, although still very sore and
painful, were no longer dry and hard as they had been when I was last
conscious of anything.

The repulsive-looking individual, apparently the sole occupant of the
forecastle except myself, at once rose from the chest upon which he was
sitting, and approached my bunk, bending over and peering down into my
face.

"Aha! my frien'!" he exclaimed, in a strong French accent; "so you have
come to life again, have you? _Bon_! zat is grand; ze capitaine he vill
be rejoice to hear ze news; for he say, ven ve pull you up out of ze
_bateau_, `Aha! here is von fine fellow; he mus' be _tres fort_ ven he
is vell; ve mus' try to save him; he vill be more useful in our--vat you
call, eh?--_gaillard d'avant_, dan in ze stomach of ze shark!' You vant
vattare, eh? _Bon_! plenty vattare here, _mon ami_; plenty provision
too; you not starve no more; you lie still in ze bunk, and I shall bring
you all t'ings _necessaire_ to make you veil, _promptement_."

So saying, he went to the other end of the forecastle, and producing a
large, rusty, tin can, and an equally rusty, and woefully battered tin
pannikin, poured out a draught, which he brought to me, and, supporting
my head upon his shoulder, held to my lips. I had an opportunity to
take a good look at him now, as he bent his face close to mine, and, so
far as I could see by the dim light of the forecastle, his repulsiveness
of appearance was due rather to the filthy condition of his person and
clothing than to the expression of his countenance; for although his
skin was dark with accumulated grime, his long whiskers, moustache, and
black greasy locks matted and unkempt, and his features frightfully
scarred with small-pox, there was a genial, mirthful sparkle in his
coal-black eyes that somewhat favourably impressed me.

The draught which he offered me was deliciously cool and refreshing;
being composed of water strongly dashed with a crude, sour sort of wine.
I swallowed it at a gulp, and was about to put a few interroga