"T’ank de good Lord, gemmen, you’s come at las’! Me an’ de cap’n, we’se been habin’ a mons’rous hard time, an’ we’se mos’ gib up. You mus’ scuse me, gemmen, fur not bein’ on de deck to receib you proper an’ ship-shape, but I ain’t had no sleep fur more’n a week, an’ I jus’ takin’ a nap. You see, fus’ de port watch on deck all night, den de cook he busy waitin’ on de cap’n all night, den de starbor’ watch he up all night, den de fus’ ossifer, den de secon’ ossifer, dey don’ get no sleep all night, an’ I is all ob um. Yes, sah, ole Nim he ebberyt’ing but cap’n ob de _Esmeral_ now. De res’ all dead an’ go oberboard. De feber catch um. Sometime one, sometime two, t’ree togedder. De las’ one, he de fus’ mate, die more’n t’ree day. De cap’n here, he mos’ die, but ole Nim pull um troo; couldn’ be lef’ alone nohow. Where you’ ship, eh?" As he asked this question Nimbus looked around with a perplexed air, in search of the vessel from which he supposed these strangers must have come. Wolfe was delighted with this odd character, and now glad of a chance to use his tongue, he told their story as briefly as possible, and ended by saying that they were awfully hungry. Nothing pleased Nimbus more than a chance to cook for strangers; and, with a broad grin on his hooded face, he waddled away towards the galley, saying, “Dreckly, gemmen! dreckly ole Nim get you mons’rous fine breakfus.” In the mean time Captain McCloud had recovered his composure, and now, to Wolfe’s amazement, Breeze introduced him as his father. At the same time he said, “Wolfe Brady is my dorymate, father, and next to you and mother, my dearest friend. We haven’t known each other very long, but what we’ve been through with has made us pretty well acquainted.” [Illustration: “ME AN’ DE CAP’N, WE’S BEEN HABIN’ A MONS’ROUS HARD TIME.”] “Yes, sir,” said Wolfe, “we met only about three weeks ago, but in that time your adopted son has twice saved my life at the risk of his own, and we have been in some rather tight places together. I don’t mind saying, now that it is all over with and we are standing on a good solid deck once more, that drifting around in that dory, through the fog of the last two days, was about the meanest fix of them all, and I hadn’t much hope that we were going to get out of it either. I’d go through with all its suffering and anxiety again, though, for the sake of being present at such a wonderful meeting as this. I never heard of anything like it.” “It is truly a wonderful meeting,” replied Captain McCloud, “and there have got to be a great many explanations made before we shall understand how it was all brought about. Certainly we have been guided in marvellous ways. You said your mother was well, Breeze?” “Yes, sir, quite well,” answered Breeze, “and looking for you to come in at any time.”