Thelowertopsailsandcourseswerethenset，andthebrigbegantowalkthewaterlikeathingoflife，herforefootdiscoursingmusic，thebirdsflyingandcryingoverherspars。
Bitbybitthepassagebegantoopenandtheblueseatoshowbetweentheflankingbreakersonthereef；bitbybit，onthestarboardbow，thelowlandoftheisletbegantoheavecloseraboard。Theyardswerebracedup，thespankersheethauledaftagain；thebrigwasclosehauled，laydowntoherworklikeathinginearnest，andhadsoondrawnneartothepointofadvantage，whereshemightstayandlieoutofthelagooninasingletack。
Wickstookthewheelhimself，swellingwithsuccess。Hekeptthebrigfulltogiveherheels，andbegantobarkhisorders：
“Readyabout。Helm’sa-lee。Tacksandsheets。Mainsailhaul。”Andthenthefatalwords：“That’lldoyourmainsail；
jumpforrardandhaulroundyourforeyards。”
Tostayasquare-riggedshipisanaffairofknowledgeandswiftsight；andamanusedtothesuccinctevolutionsofaschoonerwillalwaystendtobetoohastywithabrig。Itwassonow。
Theordercametoosoon；thetopsailssetflataback；theshipwasinirons。Evenyet，hadthehelmbeenreversed，theymighthavesavedher。Buttothinkofastern-boardatall，farmoretothinkofprofitingbyone，wereforeigntotheschooner-sailor’smind。Wicksmadehasteinsteadtowearship，amanoeuvreforwhichroomwaswanting，andtheFlyingScudtookgroundonabankofsandandcoralabouttwentyminutesbeforefive。
Wickswasnohandwithasquare-rigger，andhehadshownit。
Buthewasasailorandaborncaptainofmenforallhomelypurposes，whereintellectisnotrequiredandaneyeinaman’sheadandaheartunderhisjacketwillsuffice。Beforetheothershadtimetounderstandthemisfortune，hewasbawlingfreshorders，andhadthesailsclewedup，andtooksoundingsroundtheship。
“Shelieslovely。”heremarked，andorderedoutaboatwiththestarboardanchor。
“Here！steady！”criedTommy。“Youain’tgoingtoturnusto，towarpheroff？”
“Iamthough。”repliedWicks。
“Iwon’tsetahandtosuchtomfooleryforone。”repliedTommy。
“I’mdeadbeat。”Hewentandsatdowndoggedlyonthemainhatch。“Yougotuson；getusoffagain。”headded。
CarthewandWicksturnedtoeachother。
“Perhapsyoudon’tknowhowtiredweare。”saidCarthew。
“Thetide’sflowing！”criedthecaptain。“Youwouldn’thavememissarisingtide？”
“O，gammon！there’stidesto-morrow！”retortedTommy。
“AndI’lltellyouwhat。”addedCarthew，“thebreezeisfailingfast，andthesunwillsoonbedown。Wemaygetintoallkindsoffreshmessinthedarkandwithnothingbutlightairs。”
“Idon’tdenyit。”answeredWicks，andstoodawhileasifinthought。“ButwhatIcan’tmakeout。”hebeganagain，withagitation，“whatIcan’tmakeoutiswhatyou’remadeof！Tostayinthisplaceisbeyondme。There’sthebloodysungoingdown——andtostayhereisbeyondme！”
Theotherslookeduponhimwithhorrifiedsurprise。Thisfalloftheirchiefpillar——thisirrationalpassioninthepracticalman，suddenlybarredoutofhistruesphere，thesphereofaction——
shockedanddauntedthem。Butitgavetoanotherandunseenhearerthechanceforwhichhehadbeenwaiting。Mac，onthestrikingofthebrig，hadcrawledupthecompanion，andhenowshowedhimselfandspokeup。
“CaptainWicks。”saidhe，“it’smethatbroughtthistroubleonthelotofye。I’msorryforut，Iaskallyourpardons，andifthere’sanyonecansay’Iforgiveye，’it’llmakemysoulthelighter。”
Wicksstareduponthemaninamaze；thenhisself-controlreturnedtohim。“We’reallinglasshouseshere。”hesaid；“weain’tgoingtoturntoandthrowstones。Iforgiveyou，sureenough；andmuchgoodmayitdoyou！”
Theothersspoketothesamepurpose。
“Ithankyeforut，and’tisdonelikegentlemen。”saidMac。
“Butthere’sanotherthingIhaveuponmymind。Ihopewe’reallProdestan’shere？”
Itappearedtheywere；itseemedasmallthingfortheProtestantreligiontorejoicein！
“Well，that’sasitshouldbe。”continuedMac。“Andwhyshouldn’twesaytheLord’sPrayer？Therecan’tbenohurtinut。”
Hehadthesamequiet，pleading，childlikewaywithhimasinthemorning；andtheothersacceptedhisproposal，andkneltdownwithoutaword。
“Knaleifyelike！”saidhe。“I’llstand。”Andhecoveredhiseyes。
Sotheprayerwassaidtotheaccompanimentofthesurfandseabirds，andallroserefreshedandfeltlightenedofaload。Uptothen，theyhadcherishedtheirguiltymemoriesinprivate，oronlyreferredtothemintheheatofamomentandfallenimmediatelysilent。Nowtheyhadfacedtheirremorseincompany，andtheworstseemedover。Norwasitonlythat。
Butthepetition“Forgiveusourtrespasses。”fallinginsoappositeaftertheyhadthemselvesforgiventheimmediateauthoroftheirmiseries，soundedlikeanabsolution。
Teawastakenondeckinthetimeofthesunset，andnotlongafterthefivecastaways——castawaysoncemore——laydowntosleep。
Daydawnedwindlessandhot。Theirslumbershadbeentooprofoundtoberefreshing，andtheywokelistless，andsatup，andstaredaboutthemwithdulleyes。OnlyWicks，smellingahardday’sworkahead，wasmorealert。Hewentfirsttothewell，soundeditonceandthenasecondtime，andstoodawhilewithagrimlook，sothatallcouldseehewasdissatisfied。
Thenheshookhimself，strippedtothebuff，clamberedontherail，drewhimselfupandraisedhisarmstoplunge。Thedivewasnevertaken。Hestoodinsteadtransfixed，hiseyesonthehorizon。
“Handupthatglass。”hesaid。
Inatricetheywereallswarmingaloft，thenudecaptainleadingwiththeglass。
Onthenorthernhorizonwasafingerofgreysmoke，straightinthewindlessairlikeapointofadmiration。
“Whatdoyoumakeit？”theyaskedofWicks。
“She’struckdown。”hereplied；“notellingyet。Bythewaythesmokebuilds，shemustbeheadingrighthere。”
“Whatcanshebe？”
“ShemightbeaChinamail。”returnedWicks，“andshemightbeabloomingman-of-war，cometolookforcastaways。Here！
Thisain’tthetimetostandstaring。Ondeck，boys！”
Hewasthefirstondeck，ashehadbeenthefirstaloft，handeddowntheensign，bentitagaintothesignalhalliards，andranitupuniondown。
“Nowhearme。”hesaid，jumpingintohistrousers，“andeverythingIsayyougriponto。Ifthat’saman-of-war，she’llbeinatearinghurry；alltheseshipsarewhatdon’tdonothingandhavetheirexpensespaid。That’sourchance；forwe’llgowiththem，andtheywon’ttakethetimetolooktwiceortoaskaquestion。I’mCaptainTrent；Carthew，you’reGoddedaal；
Tommy，you’reHardy；Mac’sBrown；Amalu——Holdhard！wecan’tmakeaChinamanofhim！AhWingmusthavedeserted；
Amalustowedaway；andIturnedhimtoascook，andwasneveratthebothertosignhim。Catchtheidea？Sayyournames。”
Andthatpalecompanyrecitedtheirlessonearnestly。
“Whatwerethenamesoftheothertwo？”heasked。“HimCarthewshotinthecompanion，andtheoneIcaughtinthejawonthemaintop-gallant？”
“HoldorsenandWallen。”saidsomeone。
“Well，they’redrowned。”continuedWicks；“drownedalongsidetryingtoloweraboat。Wehadabitofasqualllastnight：
that’showwegotashore。”Heranandsquintedatthecompass。
“Squalloutofnor’-nor’-west-half-west；blewhard；everyoneinamess，fallsjammed，andHoldorsenandWallenspiltoverboard。See？Clearyourbloomingheads！”Hewasinhisjacketnow，andspokewithafeverishimpatienceandcontentionthatranglikeanger。
“Butisitsafe？”askedTommy。
“Safe？”bellowedthecaptain。“We’restandingonthedrop，youmoon-calf！Ifthatship’sboundforChina(whichshedon’tlooktobe)，we’relostassoonaswearrive；ifshe’sboundtheotherway，shecomesfromChina，don’tshe？Well，ifthere’samanonboardofherthateverclappedeyesonTrentoranybloominghandoutofthisbrig，we’llallbeinironsintwohours。Safe！no，itain’tsafe；it’sabeggarlylastchancetoshavethegallows，andthat’swhatitis。”
Atthisconvincingpicture，feartookholdonall。
“Hadn’tweahundredtimesbetterstaybythebrig？”criedCarthew。“Theywouldgiveusahandtofloatheroff。”
“You’llmakemewastethisholydayinchattering！”criedWicks。“Lookhere，whenIsoundedthewellthismorning，therewastwofootofwaterthereagainsteightincheslastnight。What’swrong？Idon’tknow；mightbenothing；mightbetheworstkindofsmash。Andthen，thereweareinforathousandmilesinanopenboat，ifthat’syourtaste！”
“Butitmaybenothing，andanywaytheircarpentersareboundtohelpusrepairher。”arguedCarthew。
“MosesMurphy！”criedthecaptain。“Howdidshestrike？
Bowson，Ibelieve。Andshe’sdownbytheheadnow。Ifanycarpentercomestinkeringhere，where’llhegofirst？Downintheforepeak，Isuppose！Andthen，howaboutallthatbloodamongthechandlery？YouwouldthinkyouwerealotofmembersofParliamentdiscussingPlimsoll；andyou’rejustapackofmurdererswiththehalterroundyourneck。Anyotherassgotanytimetowaste？No？ThankGodforthat！Now，allhands！I’mgoingbelow，andIleaveyouhereondeck。Yougettheboatcoveroffthatboat；thenyouturntoandopenthespeciechest。Therearefiveofus；getfivechests，anddividethespecieequalamongthefive——putitatthebottom——andgoatitliketigers。Getblankets，orcanvas，orclothes，soitwon’trattle。It’llmakefiveprettyheavychests，butwecan’thelpthat。
You，Carthew——dashme！——You，Mr。Goddedaal，comebelow。
We’veoursharebeforeus。”
Andhecastanotherglanceatthesmoke，andhurriedbelowwithCarthewathisheels。
Thelogswerefoundinthemaincabinbehindthecanary’scage；twoofthem，onekeptbyTrent，onebyGoddedaal。
Wickslookedfirstatone，thenattheother，andhislipstuckout。
“Canyouforgehandofwrite？”heasked。
“No。”saidCarthew。
“There’sluckforyou——nomorecanI！”criedthecaptain。
“Hullo！here’sworseyet，here’sthisGoddedaaluptodate；hemusthavefilleditinbeforesupper。Seeforyourself：’Smokeobserved——CaptainKirkupandfivehandsoftheschoonerCurrencyLass。’Ah！thisisbetter。”headded，turningtotheotherlog。“Theoldmanain’twrittenanythingforaclearfortnight。We’lldisposeofyourlogaltogether，Mr。Goddedaal，andsticktotheoldman’s——tomine，Imean；onlyIain’tgoingtowriteitup，forreasonsofmyown。Youare。You’regoingtositdownrighthereandfillitinthewayItellyou。”
“Howtoexplainthelossofmine？”askedCarthew。
“Youneverkeptone。”repliedthecaptain。“Grossneglectofduty。You’llcatchit。”
“Andthechangeofwriting？”resumedCarthew。“Youbegan；
whydoyoustopandwhydoIcomein？Andyou’llhavetosignanyway。”
“O！I’vemetwithanaccidentandcan’twrite。”repliedWicks。
“Anaccident？”repeatedCarthew。“Itdon’tsoundnatural。
Whatkindofanaccident？”
Wicksspreadhishandface-uponthetable，anddroveaknifethroughhispalm。
“Thatkindofanaccident。”saidhe。“There’sawaytodrawtowindwardofmostdifficulties，ifyou’veaheadonyourshoulders。”Hebegantobinduphishandwithahandkerchief，glancingthewhileoverGoddedaal’slog。“Hullo！”hesaid，“this’llneverdoforus——thisisanimpossiblekindofayarn。
Here，tobeginwith，isthisCaptainTrenttryingsomefancycourse，leastwayshe’sathousandmilestosouth’ardofthegreatcircle。Andhere，itseems，hewascloseupwiththisislandonthesixth，sailsallthesedays，andiscloseupwithitagainbydaylightontheeleventh。”
“Goddedaalsaidtheyhadthedeuce’sluck。”saidCarthew。
“Well，itdon’tlooklikereallife——that’sallIcansay。”returnedWicks。
“It’sthewayitwas，though。”arguedCarthew。
“Soitis；andwhatthebetterareweforthat，ifitdon’tlookso？”
criedthecaptain，soundingunwonteddepthsofartcriticism。
“Here！tryandseeifyoucan’ttiethisbandage；I’mbleedinglikeapig。”
AsCarthewsoughttoadjustthehandkerchief，hispatientseemedsunkinadeepmuse，hiseyeveiled，hismouthpartlyopen。Thejobwasyetscarcedone，whenhesprangtohisfeet。
