f the boat tended to deepen and prolong their repose.

Thus they floated peacefully during the greater part of that day--the
one solitary speck on the surface of the great ocean, for the albatross
seemed to have finally forsaken them.

Towards noon a light westerly breeze sprang up. It was not sufficient
to raise a sea or disturb the sleepers, but, in conjunction with ocean
currents, it drifted them to the south-east at a considerable rate, so
that in the evening, without the aid of oar or sail, they were far from
the spot upon the sea where we introduced them to the reader.

At last Dominick awoke with a long-drawn sigh, and, raising his head,
looked over the side of the boat. An exclamation of surprise and joy
broke from him, for there, like a speck, where something like a heavy
bank of clouds rested on the horizon, was the long-expected sail.

His first impulse was to awaken the sleepers, but he checked himself.
He would look more carefully. His eyes might be deceiving him, and the
disappointment, if he should be mistaken, would be overwhelming. He
would spare them that. Rising to his feet he shaded his eyes with one
hand, and gazed long and earnestly.

The longer he looked, however, and the more he rubbed his eyes, the more
convinced was he that a vessel was really in sight.

"Pauline," he said at length, with suppressed emotion, as he gently
shook her arm, "see, God _has_ answered our prayers: a vessel is in
sight!"

The poor girl raised herself quickly, with an exclamation of
thankfulness, and gazed intently in the direction pointed out.

"It is, surely it is a ship," she said, "but--but--don't you think there
is something curious about its appearance?"

"I have indeed been puzzled during the last few minutes," replied
Dominick. "It seems as if there were something strange under her, and
her position, too, is rather odd.--Ho! Otto, rouse up, my boy, and look
at the vessel coming to save us. Your eyes are sharp! Say, d'you see
anything strange about her?"

Thus appealed to, Otto, who felt greatly refreshed by his good meal and
long sleep, sat up and also gazed at the vessel in question.

"No, Dom," he said at length; "I don't see much the matter with her,
except that she leans over on one side a good deal, and there's
something black under and around her."

"Can it be a squall that has struck her?" said Pauline. "Squalls, you
know, make ships lie over very much at times, and cause the sea rou