above the surface and shook the water
from his ears, he heard one of the sailors cry:

"Bob's overboard!"

"Bob! Bob! Where are you?" shouted the captain. "Here's a
life-preserver!"

The boy heard a splash in the water near him and struck out for it.

"Back water!" he heard the captain cry.

"Aye, aye, sir!" replied the sailors heartily.

At the same time the captain shouted to Mr. Carr's boat word of
what had happened. Bob was weighted down by his wet clothes and he
felt he could not long keep up, but he was swimming strongly,
hoping every moment one of the boats would pick him up.

"Here I am!" he shouted, but his voice did not carry far above the
wind. He began to have a hopeless feeling, as if he was doomed to
drown there all alone on the vast ocean. A nameless terror seized
him. Then, to his joy, his fingers touched something. It was the
floating cork life-preserver, and he knew he could keep himself up
with it for a long time.

Once more he shouted, but there came no answering hail.

"Have they rowed away and left me?" thought the boy.

He held this idea but for an instant. Then he guessed the truth of
what had happened. The boats had been swept on by wind and wave,
and, in the darkness, it was impossible to see so small an object
as the boy's head in the water.

The sailors in the two boats rowed about, frantically urged on by
Captain Spark.

"His mother will never forgive me!" he whispered to himself. "I'd
rather have lost a dozen ships than have Bob drown!"

But, though they rowed about the spot where he had disappeared,
neither the captain nor Mr. Carr nor any of the sailors could find
a trace of the boy.

"We'll stand by until morning," decided the commander, and they
began their weary vigil.

Meanwhile Bob was swimming right away from the boats, for he could
not get the right direction in the darkness. He managed to fasten
the life-preserver to him, and with the buoyancy of the cork to aid
him he swam easily, though he did not make very fast progress.

After the first shock of terror was over Bob became calm. He had a
momentary fear of sharks, but he resolved not to think about these
monsters or the sea, as it sent a cold chill over him and he found
he could not swim so well.

"I'll just paddle on until morning," he decided, "and by that time
maybe the men In the boats will pick me up."

So, through the remainder of the night, he swam leisurely. In
spite of the storm it