the biggest. Then cut out all the meat and bones piece by piece,
and there is a great bottle which will hold gallons.'

"We shouted for joy, for it was as she had said, though I am sure
none of us would ever have thought of it if God had not given her
the idea. We soon set to work and got the shell ready. The rain
storm came quickly. We had turned the boat over, the oars had been
washed away, but the mast and sail were lashed to the thwarts. We
made a little hollow in the sand and stretched out the sail, and by
the time this was done and the men were ready with the turtle-shell
the rain came. When it rains in those parts it comes down in
bucketfuls, and we soon had enough in the sail to drink our fill
and to fill up the turtle-shell to the top.

"The next morning we got the boat afloat, put the other turtle
in, with our stock of dried flesh and our shell of water, and set
sail. But our luck seemed gone. We lay for days scarce moving
through the water, with the sail hanging idle and the sun blazing
down upon us. We had not been careful enough of the water at first,
making sure that in three or four days we should sight land, and
when after three days we put ourselves on short rations, there was
scarce a gallon of water left.

"It was a week after that before we saw a sail. Two of the men had
jumped overboard raving mad, the rest were lying well-nigh senseless
in the bottom of the boat. Only the woman was sitting up, holding
her child in her arms. She was very weak, too; but she had never
complained, never doubted for a moment. Her eyes went from the
child's face over the sea to look for the help she felt would come,
and back again, and at last she said quite quiet and natural: