y there
must be hope. I looked at the boats.

"We can be saved in them, captain," I said.

"They would not live a moment in such a sea as this," he answered.

"Then we can construct some rafts?"

He shook his head.

"The strongest man would quickly be washed off them. No, Ernst Verner,
we are in God's hands. If He orders the storm and seas, they will obey
Him. I know thus much about religion. We will make another effort to
get at the leak, but not for a moment can we desert the pumps. Already
the ship labours heavily, and a few more feet of water in her hold will
carry her to the bottom."

The captain was as good as his word. A sail was got over the bows, and
hauled by ropes under the ship, where the leak was supposed to be. This
done, a party of men descended with bedding and clothes, and such loose
stuff as could be found, in order to ram it into the leak. It seemed
that these efforts were not altogether unavailing, for though the water
still increased, it did so less rapidly than before. Hour after hour
passed by, and I judged from the looks of the captain, and the way he
spoke, that he was still very anxious.

"We can but prolong our lives," he remarked at length. "The men are now
almost worn-out, and cannot, I see, continue much longer at work." Even
as he spoke, several of the crew left their posts, and, throwing
themselves on the deck, declared that they could do no more. Others
murmured out that the ship was sinking. Some begged that spirits might
be given to them.

At this juncture, as I was gazing round the horizon, my eye fell on a
white spot rising above the dancing seas. At first I thought it was but
a sea-gull's wing, or it might be the crest of a wave higher than those
near us. I called the attention of one of the mates, who was standing
near me, to it. He looked at it anxiously for some time. At length he
shouted, "A sail! a sail! Cheer up, lads!"

The cry was taken up by the men. Those who had thrown themselves on the
deck leaped to their feet, and once more seized the handles of the
pumps. Nearer and nearer drew the ship. The wind too, I thought, was
also abating.

"Cheer up, lads! cheer up!" shouted the captain ever and anon, as the
men appeared to be relaxing their efforts at the pumps. "You will see
your homes again, never fear, if you keep moving smartly!" Still,
although the crew worked on bravely, the water continued pouring in, and
rising higher and higher.