e, began
forthwith to take deep-sea soundings. This was quite to his taste, for
when he stood upon the vessel's side, in order to let the line run more
freely, and held up the reel with both hands, the way in which it spun
round was quite refreshing to his happy spirit. There must have been a
hitch in the line, however, for it was suddenly checked in its
uncoiling, and the violence of the stoppage wrenched the reel from his
grasp, and the whole affair disappeared beneath the calm water!

The Bu'ster's heart smote him. He had not meant anything so wicked as
_that_.

"Ha! you young rascal, _I_ saw you," said one of the men coming up at
that moment.

Billy turned round with a start, and in doing so fell headlong into the
sea.

The sailor stood aghast as if paralysed for a moment, then--as Billy
rose to the surface with outstretched hands and staring eyes, and
uttered a yell which was suddenly quenched in a gurgling cry--he
recovered himself, and hastily threw a coil of rope towards the boy.

Now it is a curious and quite unaccountable fact, that comparatively few
sailors can swim. At all events no one can deny the fact that there are
hundreds, ay, thousands, of our seafaring men and boys who could not
swim six yards to save their lives. Strange to say, of all the men who
stood on the deck of that sloop, at the time of the accident to Billy,
(Russians included), not one could swim a stroke. The result was that
they rushed to the stern of the vessel and gazed anxiously over the
side; some shouting one thing, and some another, but not one venturing
to jump overboard, because it was as much as his life was worth to do
so!

Several ropes were instantly thrown over the drowning boy, but being
blinded both by terror and salt water, he did not see them. Then one of
the men hastily fastened the end of a line round his waist, intending to
spring over and trust to his comrades hauling him on board. At the same
moment several men rushed to the stern boat, intent on lowering her.
All this occurred in a few brief seconds. Billy had risen a second time
with another wild cry when his father and the skipper sprang up the
after-hatch and rushed to the side. Haco dashed his indestructible hat
on the deck, and had his coat almost off, when Gaff went overboard, head
first, hat, coat, and all, like an arrow, and caught Billy by the hair
when he was about four feet below the surface.

Of course Gaff's re-appearance with his so