one; but drew clear without much trouble. And all the while, through the
dark to starboard, I could make out the dim outline of that enormous weed
extent lying low upon the sea, and seeming without end. And so,
presently, my time to watch being at an end, I returned to my slumber,
and when next I waked it was morning.

Now the morning discovered to me that there was no end to the weed upon
our starboard side; for it stretched away into the distance ahead of us
so far as we could see; while all about us the sea was full of floating
masses of the stuff. And then, suddenly, one of the men cried out that
there was a vessel in among the weed. At that, as may be imagined, we
were very greatly excited, and stood upon the thwarts that we might get
better view of her. Thus I saw her a great way in from the edge of the
weed, and I noted that her foremast was gone near to the deck, and she
had no main topmast; though, strangely enough, her mizzen stood unharmed.
And beyond this, I could make out but little, because of the distance;
though the sun, which was upon our larboard side, gave me some sight of
her hull, but not much, because of the weed in which she was deeply
embedded; yet it seemed to me that her sides were very weather-worn, and
in one place some glistening brown object, which may have been a fungus,
caught the rays of the sun, sending off a wet sheen.

There we stood, all of us, upon the thwarts, staring and exchanging
opinions, and were like to have overset the boat; but that the bo'sun
ordered us down. And after this we made our breakfast, and had much
discussion regarding the stranger, as we ate.

Later, towards midday, we were able to set our mizzen; for the storm had
greatly modified, and so, presently, we hauled away to the West, to
escape a great bank of the weed which ran out from the main body. Upon