et, and
clasping the dolphin-striker tightly with both arms he held on in
safety, while with a strange, grinding, crashing sound the big steamer,
having regained her impetus after the brief check, passed over the poor
_Sea-Slipper_, sending her down into the dark depths beneath!

The moment his own safety was assured, Terry thought of Captain Afleck,
and in the silence which for a moment followed the noise of the
collision, his clear, strong voice made itself hoard calling,--

"Captain Afleck, where are you? are you all right?"

It was too dark for him to see beyond the length of his arm, but he
hoped that the captain had, like himself, got hold of the steamer
somewhere, and thus saved his own life.

Nor was his hope unfounded. Out of the darkness below came the
captain's answer,--

"I'm here, Terry, holding on for dear life. Where are you yourself?"

Before Terry could answer there was a flashing of lights above, and
eager hands were stretched out holding ropes with a bight at the end,
one of which Terry caught, while another was grasped by the captain,
and presently they were both drawn up to the deck amid the cheers of a
crowd of sailors anxiously watching the operation.

Not only so, but in like manner two of the sailors were found clinging
to the bowsprit rigging. The other two, unhappily, were in the
forecastle at the time of the collision, and before they could reach
the deck their chance was gone, and the poor fellows had been drawn
down to death with the ill-fated schooner.

As soon as Captain Afleck had got his feet firmly on the deck, he
looked about at the circle of smiling sailors, and with as cheerful an
expression as though being run down were quite a common experience, he
exclaimed,--

"Well, you did me up on short notice; and serve me well right too, I
suppose, for not having my lights up. But who may you be, and where
away?"

A jaunty little midshipman who had just pressed his way through the
crowd responded at once,--

"We're the United States war-ship _Minnesota_, and we're extremely
sorry we ran you down; but you had no lights out, you know, and we
didn't see you until we were right upon you. Are you all safe? I'm
sure I hope so."

Captain Afleck looked round about him, and then, with a sorrowful shake
of his head, replied,--

"We're all here but two. Joe and Alec were in the foc'sle when you
struck us, and I guess they hadn't time to get out. Poor chaps! it's a
mean way to