art of
the ship, where were stored the ropes and chains.

There he had remained until thirst, or hunger, drove him out, on this
night of which I am telling you, and he begged that I go on deck, where
were the scuttle butts, to get him a pannikin of water.

For those of you who may not know what a scuttle butt is, I will explain
that it is a large cask in which fresh water is kept on shipboard. When
Nathaniel's burning thirst had been soothed, he began to fear that I
might give information to Captain John Smith concerning him; but after
all that had been done in the way of hiding himself, and remembering his
suffering, I had not the heart so to do.

During four days more he spent all the hours of sunshine, and the
greater portion of the night, in my bed, closely covered so that the
sailors might not see him, and then came the discovery, when he was
dragged out with many a blow and harsh word to give an account of
himself. I fear it would have gone harder still with Nathaniel, if I had
not happened to be there at that very moment.

As it was, I went directly to Captain John Smith, my master, telling him
all Nathaniel's story, and asking if the lad had not shown himself made
of the proper stuff to be counted on as one of the adventurers.

Although hoping to succeed in my pleading, I was surprised when the
captain gave a quick consent to number the lad among those who were to
go into the new land of Virginia, and was even astonished when his name
was written down among others as if he had been pledged to the voyage in
due form.

But for the sickness of Master Hunt, and the fear we had lest he should
die, Nathaniel and I might have made exceeding merry while we lay at
anchor in the Downs, for food was plentiful; there was little of work to
be done, and we lads could have passed the time skylarking with such of
the sailors as were disposed to sport, except orders had been given that
no undue noise be made on deck.

WE MAKE SAIL AGAIN

It seemed to me almost as if we spent an entire lifetime within sight
of the country we were minded to leave behind us, and indeed six weeks,
with no change of scene, and while one is held to the narrow limits of a
ship, is an exceeding long time.

However, as I have heard Captain Smith say again and again, everything
comes to him who waits, and so also came that day when the winds were
favoring; when Captain Newport, the admiral of our fleet, gave the word
to make sail, and w