dent he changes into that infarnal old sarpent, and at me he comes,
with his eyes glaring, and his jaws wide open.

"You may take your oath, Harry, I warn't long in stays. Round I comes
like a top, and away I scuds dead afore the wind; and he--the sarpent, I
mean--arter me. It seemed to me as the faster I tried to run, the less
headway I made; and presently he was close aboard of me.

"There was a great rock just ahead of me; and I makes a _tremenjous_
jump to get behind it, when whack goes my head ag'in' the main boom with
that force it fairly stunned me, and afore I could recover myself I lost
my balance, and overboard I goes.

"I felt myself going, and flung out my hands to save myself naterally,
and by that means I managed to get hold of the becket of the life-buoy,
which in course broke adrift from the boom, and came overboard with me.

"Well, I didn't seem to know where I was or what I was doin' for a
minute or two; and then the cold water revived me. I slips my arm
through the buoy, and takes a look round for the cutter.

"I must have run her pretty nigh dead off the wind in my sleep, for I
could see her almost straight to leeward of me, still standin' on, but
comin' slowly to the wind.

"She was a good quarter of a mile away from me, and I thinks as how I
might still have a chance of fetching her ag'in, if she gets to luffing
into the wind, and losing her way, so I strikes out a'ter her.

"But, Lord bless ye! Harry, you've no idea how the little hussy slips
along, until you comes to be overboard, swimming in her wake.

"It seemed to me as though she'd _never_ come to, and all the while she
was walking away to the tune of a good seven knots.

"At last, when I rose on the top of a sea, I sees as she was in stays;
and `All right,' thinks I, `Harry's come on deck and missed me, and he's
comin' back a'ter me.' But I soon saw as she'd run into the wind, and
hove herself to, and that most likely you was still fast asleep in your
hammock.

"I next tried to cut her off by swimming in the direction that she was
heading, but after about half an hour's hard tusslin' I knowed it was no
use; she fore-reached upon me as if I was at anchor. So I give the job
up, and lay-to in the buoy for a rest, for I'd put out all my strength
in chase, and was pretty nigh done up.

"I knowed you'd miss me some time in the morning, and that you'd miss
the buoy too, and I felt sartain that you'd come back to look me up, so
I s