flames. The fire broke out a week ago in the lower hold. We fought it
as well as we could but it got the best of us. Then it suddenly broke
through the decks, almost like an explosion, a little while ago, and
the captain and others were lost, and so were our small boats. We
managed to get aft but were about to give up when you appeared."

"What ship is it and where are you from?"

"The Good Hope, laden with logwood, hides, jute and other materials
from South America," the mate answered. "We were bound for New York."

"It is more like the Last Hope instead of the Good Hope," observed Mr.
Henderson in a quiet voice, as he saw the flames mount higher and
higher over the ship. A few seconds later the craft seemed rent by an
internal explosion. It appeared to break in two parts, and, amid a
shower of sparks and a cloud of black smoke, the vessel sank under the
water and was seen no more.

The rescued men turned to behold the final end of their ship. They
betrayed no particular emotion, and some of them even laughed, which
the professor thought, at the time, was rather strange. But there was
little opportunity for speculation. The men were in a sad plight. Few
of them had more than the clothes they stood in, though each one wore
about his waist a belt, and all of them seemed to guard the leather
circlets jealously.

The professor and his crew were soon busy supplying remedies for
burns, since several of the men were seared by the flames. Then, as it
was learned they had eaten nothing for many hours, it having been
impossible to use the galley, a meal was prepared and the survivors of