e wheel grating
abaft, where you will be able to distinctly see me, and will indicate to
you how to steer in accordance with the directions which I may receive
from the hands aloft. If you can only manage to pick up the man they
have seen, he will, perhaps, if he is still sensible, be able to direct
you how to prosecute your further search. Now, if you are ready, go;
and God speed you."

The boat pushed off, and in less than ten minutes had picked up the man,
who was found to be floating comfortably enough in a life-buoy.
Questioned as to whether he thought there were any more survivors, he
replied that he feared not, as, feeling sure that the catastrophe had
been observed by us, and that we should make for the scene as promptly
as possible--which assurance had been quickly confirmed by the sight of
our rockets--he had simply clung to the life-buoy without making the
slightest effort to shorten the distance between himself and us,
believing that his best hope of deliverance consisted in remaining as
near as possible to the scene of the disaster; and that, if there were
any other survivors, they would most probably act in the same way, in
which case he would almost certainly have seen or heard something of
them in the interim; which had not been the case. Forbes, however, very
properly pulled about the spot for more than an hour, the boat's crew
shouting at intervals, and then lying on their oars and listening for a
reply. But it was all of no avail; for, though he fell in with and
picked up two buckets marked with the name of the _Northern Queen_, and
passed through a few small fragments of floating wreckage, clearly
indicating that he was prosecuting his search in precisely the right
spot, nothing more was found, and he was at length reluctantly
constrained to abandon further efforts.

The rescued man--who, when brought on board, appeared not an atom the
worse for his terrible adventure--gave his name as Joe Martin, and
informed us that he had held the rating of carpenter on board the
ill-fated _Northern Queen_. He gave us full particulars concerning the
port of registry of the ship; the port from which she had sailed; the
number of days out; the number of the crew, and their names, so far as
he knew them--in short, all the information necessary to the
identification of the ship and those on board her; and then he described
the catastrophe as it had impressed itself upon him. He said that at
midnight the deck h