When Captain Dawson heard from the master of the Evelyn the history of the disaster, he suggested that he would go in search of the long boat and its occupants. Captain Woods said that the mate would undoubtedly do as he had himself done, provided he could keep the boat afloat; that is, he would steer for the Bermudas. The Washington's course was changed so as to sail over the route traversed by the Evelyn's boat. Her captain thought he had come not far from forty miles a day since the catastrophe, and, consequently, they were about two hundred miles from where the Evelyn went down. We sailed for that distance and more, too, lying-to in the night with bright lights burning, and then sailed back again to where we had picked up the boat. No trace could be found of the long boat, nor, in fact, did we see any sign of the lost Evelyn. If any of the rubbish that usually encumbers the deck of a merchant ship was floating on the water we did not pass near enough to discover it. It was doubtless the case that the long boat sank within a day or two after her separation from the quarter-boat. It's a good lot of years since that thing happened, and I've never heard of her crew being picked up by any other ship, or of her arrival at the Bermudas or any other place. With a captain of his Majesty's army and his family on board the Washington, Captain Dawson thought it was proper to have somebody to wait upon them. His choice fell upon me; and I was taken from my duty in the starboard watch and installed as cabin-boy. This is the way it came about. Mr. Stevens was talking with the captain in a low tone on the quarter-deck, and called out to one of the sailors,-- "Tell Jack Crane to lay aft!" I went aft, wondering what I had done to be called there, and what my punishment would be for the offense which I could only imagine. When I reached the place where they were standing, the captain said,-- "Jack, Mr. Stevens says you're a handy lad, and I'm going to promote you. You are relieved from duty in your watch, and will be cabin-boy the rest of the voyage." I did not feel like thanking him at all, for I preferred to be forward, as I had been; but I was obliged to say something, and so I replied, "Thank you, sir." "All right," said the captain, "come into the cabin, and I'll tell you what you're to do." I followed him in to the cabin,--they call it a saloon on grand ships,--where Captain Graham and his family were seated. I presume he'd given them warning, as they were grouped around the table like members of a royal court when the king is expected to walk in. "This is Jack Crane," said Captain Dawson; "and he's going to be cabin-boy the rest of the voyage. I don't believe he knows much about waiting on gentlemen and ladies, but he's a handy boy around the ship, and it won't take him long to learn." Again I didn't know exactly what to say, and I think my embarrassment must have shown on my face. Captain Graham helped me out by saying,--