"Seize him! seize him!" cried the captain; and that was what Benjamin was waiting to do when the miserable fellow should rise to the surface. As soon as he came up from the depths into which he had sunk, Benjamin seized him by the hair of his head and pulled him on board. "There, you fool," exclaimed Benjamin. "I hope that ducking will sober you. You came within sight of eternity that time." "He may thank you for saving his life," remarked one of the boatmen. "He is too drunk for that," replied Benjamin. "He will never know how near he came to his own place. Strange that any man will be so foolish as to drink stuff that will steal away his brains." "Don't you ever drink it?" asked the captain in reply. "Not one drop," his young passenger replied with emphasis, as he rolled over the Dutchman to get the water out of him. "There, are you all right now?" The Dutchman mumbled over something, no one could tell what. It was probably about a book in his jacket; for he took one therefrom, and signified to Benjamin that he wanted it dried; and then he dropped into a sound sleep. "I declare, if it is not my old friend, The Pilgrim's Progress," exclaimed Benjamin; "in Dutch, too! A queer companion for a drunken man to have, though a good one." "Knows more about the bottle than he does about that, I bet," said the captain. "I don't suppose that it makes much difference to him whether he is under the water or on top." "Not just now," replied Benjamin; "but what chance is there for landing on such a rocky shore?" "Not much; we'll drop anchor, and swing out the cable towards the shore," said the captain. "I see men on the shore, and there are boats there; perhaps they can come to our rescue, though the wind is blowing a little too hard for them." The captain hallooed to them, and they returned an answer, but the wind howled so that they could not be understood. "A boat! A boat!" shouted the captain. Others of the crew joined in the call for aid, and made various signs indicating their need of assistance. But neither party could understand the other. "What now?" inquired Benjamin, when he saw the men on shore turning their steps homeward. "A pretty dark night before us." "Yes, dark and perilous, though I have seen a worse one," answered the captain. "When we find ourselves in such a predicament, there is only one thing to be done." "What is that?" asked Benjamin, who was quite nervous and anxious. "Do nothing but wait patiently for the wind to abate." The captain was cool and self-reliant when he spoke. "Then let us turn in with the Dutchman," said one of the boatmen. "I don't want he should have all the sleep there is. He is not in condition to appreciate it as I am." "As you please," said the captain; "might as well improve the time by getting a little rest. We shall be all right in the morning."