antern some little distance aloft, which, he
said, might possibly keep vessels from running into us. He also
performed, at intervals, upon a cornet which he had brought with him.
This was a very wise thing to do, but, for some reason or other, such
music, in a fog, depressed my spirits; however, as it seemed quite
suitable to the condition of my affairs I did not interfere, and the
notes of Bonnie Doon or My Old Kentucky Home continued to be soaked into
the fog.

Night came on; the fog still enveloped us, and the situation became
darker. We had our supper, and I turned in, with the understanding that
at midnight I was to take the watch, and let Walkirk sleep. It was of no
use to make ourselves any more uncomfortable than need be.

It was between two and three o'clock when I was called to go on watch;
and after I had been sitting in the stern smoking and thinking for an
hour or more, I noticed that the light on the mast had gone out. It was,
however, growing lighter, and, fancying that the fog was thinner, I
trusted to the coming of the day and a breeze, and made no attempt to
take down and refill the lantern.

Not long after this my attention was attracted by something which
appeared like the nucleus of a dark cloud forming in the air, a short
distance above the water, and not far away on our port quarter. Rapidly
the cloud grew bigger and blacker. It moved toward us, and in a few
moments, before I had time to collect my thoughts and arouse Walkirk, it
was almost upon us, and then I saw that it was the stern of a vessel,
looming high above my head.

I gave a wild shout; Walkirk dashed out of his bunk; there was a call
from above; then I felt a shock, and our boat keeled over on her
starboard side. In a moment, however, she receded from the other vessel,
and righted herself. I do not know that Walkirk had ever read in a book
what he ought to do in such an emergency, but he seized a boat hook and
pushed our boat away from the larger vessel.

"That's right!" cried a voice from above. "I'll heave ye a line. Keep
her off till we have drifted past ye, and then I'll haul ye in."

Slowly the larger vessel, which was not very large, but which drifted
faster than our little boat, floated past us, until we were in tow at
her bow. We could now see the form of a man leaning over the rail of the
vessel, and he called out to us to know if we were damaged, and if we
wanted to come aboard. I was about to reply that we were all rig