of grog apiece."

"You'll not be afther laughin' at us, shure, Mr Desmond?" said Tim.
"If we could but have a dhrop of the creature, it would cheer our hearts
mightily."

"Indeed, I am not," said Desmond, producing the bottle from one of the
after lockers. It was but a quarter full of rum, but even the small
portion mixed with water which Desmond served out was sufficient to
restore energy, to the almost exhausted party. The remainder he
carefully put by for the next day. After this the watch below lay down
and went to sleep.

Tom sat at the helm. Every now and then he told Pat to keep a bright
look out.

"Arrah, sir, it will be a hard matter to do that, since I cannot see
half a fathom before my nose."

"There cannot be much use in looking out," said Billy. "If we were near
the land we should have seen it before dark; and as we have not fallen
in with a single vessel since we left the Bonins, we are not likely to
meet with one to-night."

"That's not sound reasoning, Billy," answered Tom. "We must, until the
fog lifts, make more use of our ears than our eyes. We may hear
breakers ahead in time to avoid them if we listen attentively."

They were silent for some time. Tom's chief object in speaking was to
keep his companions awake.

"Billy," he said, after some time, "did you hear anything?"

"Yes; I fancied I heard a bell strike."

"More than once?"

"Yes; four times."

"So did I," said Tom; and he took out his watch, intending to look at it
by the light of the binnacle lamp, when at that instant the lamp went
out. The oil had been exhausted, and there was no more in the can.
Pat, he had reason to fear, had taken a pull at it unperceived.

He struck a match, and saw it was just ten o'clock. There could be no
doubt, then, that the bell they heard was that on board a ship; still it
was so faint that she was probably a long way off.

Tom could now only steer by the wind, which, however, he believed was
holding steady. He had settled with Desmond to go about at four bells,
and to keep on the starboard tack until midnight, then again to go
about. He had just ordered Pat to let fly the jib sheet, and had put
down the helm, when, as the boat was in stays, Pat sang out--

"A sail right ahead!" What was Tom's horror at that instant to see a
vast pyramid of sail towering above him. The next moment a crash was
heard; the stranger's stem struck the boat's bow. At the sound Desmond
and Jerry sprang