water around her was against us; the elements, the men were against
us--everything was against us in our secret partnership; time
itself--for this could not go on forever. The very trust in
Providence was, I suppose, denied to his guilt. Shall I confess
that this thought cast me down very much? And as to the chapter of
accidents which counts for so much in the book of success, I could
only hope that it was closed. For what favourable accident could
be expected?

"Did you hear everything?" were my first words as soon as we took
up our position side by side, leaning over my bed-place.

He had. And the proof of it was his earnest whisper, "The man told
you he hardly dared to give the order."

I understood the reference to be to that saving foresail.

"Yes. He was afraid of it being lost in the setting."

"I assure you he never gave the order. He may think he did, but he
never gave it. He stood there with me on the break of the poop
after the maintopsail blew away, and whimpered about our last hope-
-positively whimpered about it and nothing else--and the night
coming on! To hear one's skipper go on like that in such weather
was enough to drive any fellow out of his mind. It worked me up
into a sort of desperation. I just took it into my own hands and
went away from him, boiling, and-- But what's the use telling you?
YOU know! . . . Do you think that if I had not been pretty fierce
with them I should have got the men to do anything? Not it! The
bo's'n perhaps? Perhaps! It wasn't a heavy sea--it was a sea gone