gs on. A fellow can do it in a bath, as a sort of
exhibition like; but when he comes to battle for his life against the
sea, the only chance he has is when he's stripped; for his clothes suck
in the water and weigh him down so as to take all the buoyancy out of
him and cripple his efforts to keep afloat--that's my opinion from
painful experience.

"Soon after I quitted the raft," continued Ben, proceeding again with
his narrative after my interruption, "I saw on looking back that Russell
had clutched hold of Bellamy the same as he had done with me. But
Bellamy hadn't half my strength, for the other soon got the better of
him, and although I tried to swim back against the rollers so as to
prevent the mishap, I couldn't make headway in spite of all my efforts,
so in a minute or so I saw both tumble off the raft into the sea, and go
down locked together in an embrace of death. Poor fellows, the madman
had caused both to perish, when, by keeping quiet, they might have been
washed safely ashore in time. I tried myself to regain the raft then,
it being now vacant and ample enough to support me alone comfortably;
but the waves were too much for me, so I had to give up that hope and
strike out once more for the shore, although the latter was so far off
and low down too in the water that I couldn't even get a glimpse of it
now to cheer me up and lead me on. I could only judge the direction of
it by the set of the tide and the sun; and although I swam as manfully
as I could, the thought occurred to me more than once that I might be
making for the open ocean instead of the land after all, and was only
prolonging my last agony!

"However, a little way on, the sight of one of my lost shipmates gave me
fresh courage, for I had believed up till then, when Bellamy and Russell
sank under water, that I was the only one of the pinnace's crew left
alive.

"His name was Magellan, one of the smartest topmen of the old _Dolphin_,
and he seemed now to rival the reputation of the fish after which our
vessel was named, as he was swimming ahead of me with a proper breast
stroke, and going well through the waves. I first saw him as he rose on
top of a roller; and he, looking back at the same moment, when turning
his head to avoid the wash of the wave, caught sight of me.

"`Hullo, Campion!' he sang out, `where are you bound for?'

"`For the shore, you lubber,' I retorted jokingly, for seeing him put
such fresh life in me that I felt alm