sea-bag--among ten men. But to this, at that time, he had no answer, and
so, being sharp for supper, made a return to the deck, and thence to the
main cabin.

Now while he had been gone, the bo'sun had set the men to clearing out
the main cabin; after which, he had served out two biscuits apiece all
round, and a tot of rum. To Josh, when he appeared, he gave the same,
and, in a little, we called a sort of council; being sufficiently stayed
by the food to talk.

Yet, before we came to speech, we made shift to light our pipes; for the
bo'sun had discovered a case of tobacco in the captain's cabin, and after
this we came to the consideration of our position.

We had provender, so the bo'sun calculated, to last us for the better
part of two months, and this without any great stint; but we had yet to
prove if the brig held water in her casks, for that in the creek was
brackish, even so far as we had penetrated from the sea; else we had not
been in need. To the charge of this, the bo'sun set Josh, along with two
of the men. Another, he told to take charge of the galley, so long as we
were in the hulk. But for that night, he said we had no need to do
aught; for we had sufficient of water in the boats' breakers to last us
till the morrow. And so, in a little, the dusk began to fill the cabin;
but we talked on, being greatly content with our present ease and the
good tobacco which we enjoyed.

In a little while, one of the men cried out suddenly to us to be silent,
and, in that minute, all heard it--a far, drawn-out wailing; the same
which had come to us in the evening of the first day. At that we looked
at one another through the smoke and the growing dark, and, even as we