d fell upon the surges, which was
convincing proof to my mind that she was loaded down with something much
more stable than water.

At length, when we had drawn up to within a cable's length of her, the
man on the royal yard sang out that there were people in her, but that
they were all lying down in the bottom of the boat, and appeared to be
dead.

"We shall have to pick her up ourselves," said I to Lindsay. "Let one
hand stand by to drop into her from the fore chains with a rope's-end as
we bring her alongside. Lay your topsail aback, Mr Lindsay, and let
your jib-sheet flow, if you please."

And as I sprang up on the rail to con the schooner alongside, Lindsay
gave the necessary orders.

With the topsail aback, and the mainsheet eased well off, the schooner
went drifting slowly down toward the launch, that, as we now approached
her, looked old, battered, and weather-stained almost out of
recognition. We steered so as to shave past her close to windward, and
as she came drifting in under our fore chains, the man who was waiting
there with a rope's-end dropped neatly into her, and, springing lightly
along the thwarts into the eyes of her, deftly made fast the rope to the
iron ring bolt in her stem. Then he turned himself, and looked at the
ghastly cargo that the boat carried, and as he gazed he whitened to the
lips, and a look of unspeakable horror crept into his eyes as he
involuntarily thrust out his hands as though to ward off the sight of
some dreadful object. And well he might, for as I gazed down into that
floating charnel-house I turned deadly sick and faint, as much at what
met my sight as at the horrible odour that rose up out of her and filled
my nostrils. The boat seemed to be full of dead, lying piled upon one
another, as though they had been flung there; yet the first glance
assured me that some of those who were on board her, on the night when I
parted company in the gig, were now missing. The captain and the doctor
were lying side by side in the stern-sheets; the rest of the ill-fated
party were lying heaped one upon the other, or doubled up over the
thwarts in the other part of the boat. The two masts were standing, but
the sails were lowered and lay, unfurled, along the thwarts, on top of
the oars and boathook. There was no trace of food of any kind to be
seen, and the water-breakers were without bungs, and to all appearance
empty.

So ghastly and repulsive was the sight which the boat pr