THE CAST-AWAY. 147 



Rage like that of a frenzied demon blazed from 

 the old man's tough countenance. He swore a 

 volley of terrible curses. 



But as soon as he came to himself he realized 

 that not a moment was to be lost in the mere 

 indulgence of righteous wrath ; so, calling " 'Hall 

 'ands " aft, he detailed the men to various duties 

 in rescue service. 



The mastheads were to be manned directly. 

 Two boats were to spread the news through the 

 harbor and ask assistance in the name of human- 

 ity. The other boats were to sail and row out to 

 sea as far as they dared and with all speed, keep- 

 ing wide apart, to cover as large an area as 

 possible, and search for the cooper's canoe. 



I gladly lent my services in so imperative an 

 enterprise. I was the more eager to help find the 

 cooper because, years and years before, I had seen 

 a cooper buried at sea, and my sympathies were 

 touched and my fears aroused by the recollection 

 of that pitiful scene. Was the poor English 

 barrel-smith to be lost in the deep, buried in its 

 restless waters, and not to be honored with even 

 the formal reading of a written service ? 



It is strange with what vividness such impres- 

 sions live in one's memory, and upon what slender 

 grounds of suggestion they rise anew into activity. 



