to wag.

"Well, Cuffy," said Jarwin at last, rousing himself with a sigh, "wot
are 'ee thinking of?"

The dog instantly rose, made affectionate demonstrations, and whined.

"Ah, you may well say that, Cuff," replied the man; "I know you ain't
easy in yer mind, and there's some reason in that, too, for we're off on
a raither uncertain viage, in a somewhat unseaworthy craft. Howsever,
cheer up, doggie. Whoever turns up, you and I shall sink or swim
together."

Just then the sail flapped.

"Hallo! Cuff," exclaimed Jarwin, with a look of anxiety, "the wind's
going to shift."

This was true. The wind did shift, and in a few minutes had veered so
much round that the raft was carried away from the blue line on the
horizon, which Jarwin had so fondly hoped would turn out to be an
inhabited island. It blew lightly, however, and when the sun went down,
had completely died away. In these circumstances Jarwin and his dog
supped together, and then lay down to rest, full of sanguine hope.

They were awakened during the night by a violent squall, which, however,
did no further damage than wash a little spray over them, for Jarwin had
taken the precaution to lower and make fast the sail. He now turned his
attention to preparing the raft for rough weather. This consisted in
simply drawing over the hollow--in which he, his dog, and his provisions
lay--a piece of canvas that he had cut off the sail, which was
unnecessarily large. It served as a tarpaulin, and effectually shielded
them from ordinary sprays, but when the breeze freshened to a gale, and
green seas swept over the _raft_, it leaked so badly, that Jarwin's
cabin became a salt-water bath, and his provisions by degrees were
soaked.

At first he did not mind this much, for the air and water were
sufficiently warm, but after being wet for several hours he began feel
chilled. As for poor Cuffy, his trembling body bore testimony to the
state of his feelings; nevertheless he did not complain, being a dog of
high spirit and endurance. In these circumstances the seaman hailed the
rising sun with great joy, even although it rose in the midst of lurid
murky clouds, and very soon hid its face altogether behind them, as if
it had made up its mind that the state of things below was so bad as to
be not worth shining upon.

All that day and night the gale continued, and they were driven before
it. The waves rushed so continuously and furiously over the raft, that
it was