ly held
his peace.

"Where do you belong to?" demanded the captain.

"To Yarmouth, sir."

"What ship did you sail in, what has come of her, and how came you to be
cast adrift?"

"I sailed in the _Nancy_, sir, from Plymouth, with a miscellaneous cargo
for China. She sprung a leak in a gale, and we was 'bliged to make a
raft, the boats bein' all stove in or washed away. It was barely ready
when the ship went down starn foremost. Durin' the gale all my mates
were washed off the raft or died of exposure; only me and my dog left."

"How long ago was that?" asked the captain.

"Couldn't rightly say, sir, I've lost count o' time, but it's more than
a year gone by anyhow."

"That's a lie," said the captain, with an oath.

"No, 'taint, sir," replied Jarwin, reddening, "it's a truth. I was nigh
starved on that raft, but was cast on an island where I've bin till a
few days ago ever since, when I put to sea on the raft that now lays
a-starn there."

For a few seconds the captain made no rejoinder, but a glance at the
raft seemed to satisfy him of the truth of what was said. At length he
said abruptly--

"What's your name?"

"John Jarwin, sir."

"Well, John Jarwin, I'll save you on one condition, which is, that you
become one of my crew, and agree to do my bidding and ask no questions.
What say you?"

Jarwin hesitated.

"Haul up the raft and let this man get aboard of it," said the captain,
coolly but sternly, to the seaman who held the rope.

"You've no occasion to be so sharp, sir," said John, remonstratively.
"If you wos to tell me to cut my own throat, you know, I could scarce be
expected for to do it without puttin' a few questions as to the reason
why. You're a trader, I suppose?"

"Yes, I'm a trader," replied the captain, "but I don't choose to be
questioned by you. All you've got to do is to agree to my proposal or
to walk over the side. To tell you the truth, when I saw you first
through the glass, you looked such a starved wretch that I thought you'd
be of no use to me, and if it hadn't been for the yell you gave, that
showed there was something in you still, I'd have left you to sink or
swim. So you see what sort of man you've got to deal with. I'm
short-handed, but not so short as to engage an unwilling man, or a man
who wouldn't be ready for any sort of dirty work. You may take your
choice."

"Well, sir," replied Jarwin, "I've no objection to take service with
'ee. As the sayin' goes