ch, no
one at the wheel, no one anywhere. I ran down into the fo'castle, which
is the sailors' quarters, but not a soul could I see. I called, I
whistled, I searched everywhere, but no one answered; I could find no
one. Then I dashed up on deck, and glared, around me. Every boat was
gone.

"Now I knew what had happened: the cowardly rascals, from captain to
cook, had deserted the ship in the night, and I had been left behind!

"For some minutes I stood motionless, wondering how men could be so
unfeeling as to do such a thing. I soon became convinced, from what I
had seen of the crew, that they had not all gone off together, that
there had been no concerted action. A number of them had probably
quietly lowered a boat and sneaked away; then another lot had gone off,
hoping their mates would not hear them and therefore crowd into their
boat. And so they had all departed, not one boat-load thinking of
anybody but themselves; or if they thought at all about others,
quieting their consciences by supposing that there were enough boats
on the vessel, and that the other people were as likely to get off as
they were.

"Suddenly I thought of the other passengers. Had they been left behind?
I ran down below, and I had scarcely reached the bottom of the steps
when I met Miss Minturn's maid. 'It seems to me,' she said, sharply,
'that the people on this ship are neglecting their duty. There's nobody
in the kitchen, and I want some gruel.' 'My good woman,' said I, 'who
do you want it for?' 'Who!' she replied; 'why, for Mr. Minturn, of
course; and Miss Minturn may like some, too.'

"Then I knew that all the passengers had been left behind!

"'If you want any gruel,' said I, 'you will have to go into the galley
and make it yourself'; and then in a low tone I told her what had
happened, for I knew that it would be much better for me to do this
than for her to find it out for herself. Without a word she sat right
down on the floor, and covered her head with her apron. 'Now don't make
a row,' said I, 'and frighten your master and mistress to death; we're
all right so far, and all you've got to do is to take care of Mr. and
Miss Minturn, and cook their meals. The steamer is tight and sound, and
it can't be long before some sort of a craft will come by and take us
off.' I left her sniffling with her apron over her head, but when I
came back, ten minutes afterward, she was in the galley making gruel.

"I don't think you will be surpris