consisted of the following articles:-

First, A small penknife with a single blade broken off about the
middle and very rusty, besides having two or three notches on its
edge. (Peterkin said of this, with his usual pleasantry, that it
would do for a saw as well as a knife, which was a great
advantage.) Second, An old German-silver pencil-case without any
lead in it. Third, A piece of whip-cord about six yards long.
Fourth, A sailmaker's needle of a small size. Fifth, A ship's
telescope, which I happened to have in my hand at the time the ship
struck, and which I had clung to firmly all the time I was in the
water. Indeed it was with difficulty that Jack got it out of my
grasp when I was lying insensible on the shore. I cannot
understand why I kept such a firm hold of this telescope. They say
that a drowning man will clutch at a straw. Perhaps it may have
been some such feeling in me, for I did not know that it was in my
hand at the time we were wrecked. However, we felt some pleasure
in having it with us now, although we did not see that it could be
of much use to us, as the glass at the small end was broken to
pieces. Our sixth article was a brass ring which Jack always wore
on his little finger. I never understood why he wore it, for Jack
was not vain of his appearance, and did not seem to care for
ornaments of any kind. Peterkin said "it was in memory of the girl
he left behind him!" But as he never spoke of this girl to either
of us, I am inclined to think that Peterkin was either jesting or
mistaken. In addition to these articles we had a little bit of
tinder, and the clothes on our backs. These last were as follows:-

Each of us had on a pair of stout canvass trousers, and a pair of
sailors' thick shoes. Jack wore a red flannel shirt, a blue