on the pinions of the breeze a muffled, booming _crash_, as
confirmatory evidence of the appalling disaster.

"Gone--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye!" ejaculated Sir Edgar,
with quivering, ashen lips, as he strained his eyes toward the point so
recently occupied by our companion. "Oh, captain, can _nothing_ be
done? Is there _no_ hope that out there some few survivors at least may
be floating on a scrap or two of wreckage? You will go there and see,
will you not?"

"Assuredly I will," said I. "I will tack the moment that I think we can
fetch the spot where the ship disappeared. Meanwhile," continued I, to
the second mate, who had charge of the deck, "get up three rockets and
fire them, as a signal to the possible survivors that we have observed
the disaster, and intend to look for them. They will, no doubt,
understand what we mean."

The rockets were brought on deck and fired; by which time I judged that
we had gone far enough to justify us in tacking ship. We accordingly
went about, and two hands were then stationed on the fore-topsail yard
to keep a lookout for wreckage, while a third laid out as far as the
flying-jib-boom end for the same purpose.

We had been on the starboard tack some three-quarters of an hour, and I
had just hailed the lookouts, warning them to be especially vigilant, as
we must now be near the scene of the catastrophe, when the man on the
flying-jib-boom end cried out with startling suddenness--

"There's something floating out there to wind'ard, sir; broad on the
starboard bow!"

"Yes, yes," added both the men aloft, with one consent. "It looks like
something alive--like a man, sir, waving his arm!"

"Don't take your eyes off it for an instant, either of you, on any
account," I answered, with a strange thrill in my voice at the idea of
our being perhaps close to one or more survivors of that awful
visitation of God that we had witnessed. "Back your main-topsail, Mr
Forbes, and then man and lower the port quarter-boat."

"Ay, ay," was the brisk response. "Man the weather main-braces, my
lads; lively, now. Cast off to leeward; round-in to windward. Well
there; belay. Shall I take charge of the boat, sir?"

"Certainly," I said; "it is your turn this time, Mr Forbes, and I hope
you will be as successful as Mr Roberts was when we last had occasion
to lower a boat. You will probably not be able to see the man when you
are in the boat and under way, so I will stand on th