'A TRAVELLER'S TALES' 197 



vengeance ; but not all, for some were left behind 

 in that blinding wash of waters, unable to gain any 

 foothold that would lead them to a place of safety. 

 We, the survivors, stood huddled together in a 

 trembling crowd as the ship settled down lower 

 and lower : gray old veterans and gay young sparks 

 in the prime of youth, withered matrons and comely 

 maidens, all trembling, and all, or nearly all, doomed. 

 W e were too busy with our own concerns to give a 

 thought to the men, and to this day 1 cannot say 

 what became of them. 



* Finally, we began to move restlessly to and fro, 

 to and fro, first along the decks and then along the 

 bulwarks, until at the last I realized that the time 

 had come to dive into the terrible ocean off the 

 rapidly-tilting stern ; and, when I led the way, the 

 rest followed, and the surface of the water was 

 thickly dotted with whiskered heads swimming for 

 dear life towards the shore. I am a good swimmer, 

 as you know, but the waters, though relatively 

 calm, were very different to the surface of the 

 river, and a glad and thankful rat was I when 

 I contrived to clamber ashore and make my way 

 up among rocks and stones into a place of safety. 

 A glance over the water showed me that the ship 

 was gone all but the tip of a mast, and also that 



