A trembling movement of the ship with a grinding sound beneath me brought my feet to the floor with a bound; my trousers and hat were seized at the same instant, and the mate, Mr. Bunker, and myself reached the deck all at once, crowding each other on the stairs. The captain was already there. None of us asked another what was the matter; we seemed to wake with an instinctive understanding of the whole truth in its painful aggregate; and our first glances around were merely to take in the details of the situation. Cocoanut trees were looming on the starboard bow, seeming in the gray light to overhang the ship, and gradually receding along the beam and quarter, as the land trended to the south-east. All was clear blue water off the lee bow, but day had broken, and a line of cocoanut trees against the western skies indicated another island within a few miles off the lee beam. We had run on the lee end of one of the islands, for the line of the reef, as marked by the color of the water, was only one point off the port bow. A quarter of a mile more off would have carried us all clear, and into the channel between the two. The wind was very light, and partially embayed as we were it was so smooth that there was little or no breaker near the ship, and she scarcely moved after the first shock of running on the reef. I had taken these few hasty notes while we were hauling everything in aback, with the hope of forcing her astern, but the power of her sails was not sufficient with so light a breeze. The pumps were tried, but showed no leak, and the hand lead was passed along for sounding. No questions were asked, no fault found, though we all understood well enough how it happened. As I have before intimated, the second mate, though so good an officer in all other respects, had the fatal weakness of falling to sleep at his post. I knew as well as if I had seen it myself, that after stirring about a short time and setting a lookout, he had sat down and dropped off into the land of Nod. Of course, if the officer of the deck sleeps, all the rest will be likely to follow his example; Jack not being disposed to take upon himself any cares for which an other is better paid. I have no doubt to this day, that, at the moment the ship struck, every man was asleep, both above and below deck, but the captain, who was just coming up the stairs.