e; "only one."

A mist came for a moment over Mark Vandean's sight, but it passed away;
and, with the feeling of suffocation at his throat increasing now, he
kept his glass upon the black head in the midst of the quivering water,
where a man was swimming hard for life. Brought almost close to him by
his powerful glass, Mark could nearly make out the agonised look upon
the swimmer's face, as, at every stroke, he made the water shimmer in
the moonlight; and every moment as his forehead grew wet and his hands
clammy, the midship, man expected to see the waves close over the poor
wretch's head.

Just then his attention was taken up by the voices of the Captain and
lieutenant.

"The scoundrel! the fiend!" cried the former, with a stamp of rage upon
the deck; "if it were not for those on board I'd sink him."

"I wish we could, sir," replied the first lieutenant; "we shall lose
him."

"No," cried the captain. "He has thrown that poor wretch overboard,
believing that we shall heave to and pick him up sooner than let him
drown."

"While he gets a mile away," said the first lieutenant; "and as soon as
we overhaul him again, he'll throw over another--that is, sir, if we
stop to pick the poor creatures up."

"Help! boat! help!" cried Mark, unable to contain his feelings longer;
and lowering his glass, he turned to the captain. "Look, sir, look!" he
cried, pointing in the direction of the drowning black; "the poor
fellow's going down."

CHAPTER THREE.

SAVING A BROTHER'S LIFE.

There was a moment's dead silence after Mark had, in his excitement,
cried for help. Then the word "Fire!" was uttered sharply, and there
was the deafening report of a gun, whose shot again passed between the
schooner's masts, but without doing the slightest harm. Then, almost
mingled with the bass roar of the cannon, the captain's orders rang out;
the boatswain's pipe sounded shrilly, and as the _Nautilus_ was thrown
up into the wind, and her sails began to shiver, down went the boat with
its crew, Mark, at a sign from the captain, who gave him a friendly
smile, having sprung in. Then there was a quick thrust off by the
coxswain, the oars fell on either side with a splash, and the young
midshipman stood up, balancing himself on the thwart in the
stern-sheets, directing the officer who held the rudder-lines how to
steer, for far-away on the moonlit water, when the swell rose high, he
could still see the dark head and the rippling made