have had the happiness of seeing him. Now should he
return to the settlement, what would be his feelings to find it
desolate, and to suppose, as he must, that we had shared the fate of the
other inhabitants.

Our condition was also becoming, humanly speaking, fearful in the
extreme. As I looked at Maud's pale countenance I feared that she could
not long endure such suffering. I was not aware that I looked equally
ill. The young Englishman treated us with the most gentle and constant
attention; he even insisted on our taking a portion of his scanty
allowance of food and water, and when we refused to deprive him of it I
am sure that he took means to add it unseen to our shares. At length
the gale ceased, the canoe no longer tumbled about, and the heat of the
sun's rays--as they shone upon the glass-like surface of the ocean on
which we floated--was intense in the extreme. Abela urged the crew to
get out their paddles, but they answered, as I had expected, "we cannot
live to reach the island, and when our food and water are exhausted, we
will lie down and die. There is nothing else for us to do."

CHAPTER NINE.

A CALM.--THE CANOE FLOATS MOTIONLESS ON THE OCEAN.--MANY OF OUR NUMBER
APPEAR TO BE DYING FOR WANT OF WATER.--I FEAR CHIEFLY FOR MAUD, WHEN A
SAIL IS SEEN, AND, WITH A RISING BREEZE, SHE APPROACHES.--WE ARE
RECEIVED ON BOARD THE "TRUE LOVE," AND KINDLY TREATED BY CAPTAIN HUDSON
AND HIS WIFE.

The canoe still floated motionless on the calm ocean, which shone like a
sheet of burnished gold. Maud and I lay in each other's arms, expecting
thus to die. Still we could whisper together, and talk of the glories
of that heaven we hoped soon to reach. Abela sat like a mother watching
over us, but she too was sinking. Of the heathen crew several appeared
to be dying, if they were not already dead; but others, who had listened
to the Word of Life, gathered round us that they might hear the
instruction which Abela, as long as she had the power of speech,
afforded them. Young Tofa bore up bravely, and Mr Norton struggled
wonderfully with his sufferings. He occasionally rose to his feet and
gazed around, as if he still hoped help would come ere it was too late.
Another day I felt sure must terminate the existence of most of those on
board.

I closed my eyes, feeling a faintness coming over me, when I was aroused
by Mr Norton's voice. I saw him standing up, with his arms
outstretched, and his dim eye lighte