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Tim was still clinging to the gunwale, but upon observing Ned deserted, he relinquished his hold and swam back to his young master, at the same time he shouted, "Catch de ship, Massa Ned! nebber mind de boat. Debbel take care of Massa Stevens !"

Ned followed Tim's advice, and struck out for the frigate, and fortunately both lads caught hold of a floating mast just as the vessel parted amidships, and the after portion disappeared entirely in deep water. Had they not clung to the mast they must have been sucked under by the vortex of the sinking hull. Nothing now remained but the fore part of the frigate, which was firmly fixed upon the reef. To this portion of the wreck the two lads swam, and climbed on board by means of the broken shrouds hanging from the fore-chains; they then secured the dog by a rope, and hauled him upon deck. Another boat in addition to the cutter had succeeded in leaving the wreck. Many people had perished with the sunken stern; others had been drowned in their attempts to reach the boats; some had been washed overboard during the night; and as Ned and Tim now stood upon the forecastle with the faithful Nero they were the only living beings that remained upon the wreck of the once-powerful frigate Forte. The boats had pulled out to sea in a direction north-west.

By degrees the wind died away as the sun sank in the evening; the clouds had broken, and as the moon rose they gradually dispersed; the stars shone brightly; the stormy sea had spent its rage, and subsided into a long and sullen swell, and peace once more reigned among the exhausted elements. Hungry and tired, the three living creatures on the wreck lay down and slept upon the deck of the forecastle. The sea no longer broke over the fragment of the hull, but simply dashed harmlessly against the sides, and splashed into the interior of the hold where the vessel had parted amidships.

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CHAPTER XIII.

NOTHER morning broke; it was clear and beautiful.

Not a cloud dimmed the sky in the gray dawn, and the sun rose upon a calm sea; no vestige of the tempest remained but the broken wreck-the Sybille's prize, that was to have conveyed Ned to England and his home.

Ned and Tim had both slept soundly, in spite of the chill of wet clothes; the weather was warm, and as the sun rose, the heat soon dried them. Ned Grey was not deficient in romance, but he felt that, however exciting the adventure, much remained to be done to save their lives. Tim was entirely practical, and as he felt extremely hungry he desired something to eat. Judging from Nero's demeanor, he was of the same opinion, as he constantly pawed his young master Ned, and looked wistfully in his face, as though he thought he had forgotten to order breakfast.

All the fowls had been washed overboard together with the hen-coops and half a dozen sheep that had been taken on board for the officers: there was literally nothing to eat, unless they could discover some casks of provisions among the mass of miscellaneous cargo that occupied the fore-hold. Descending into the interior of the wreck among a chaos of barrels, Ned broke in the head of a cask with a heavy iron marling-spike, and to his great joy he found that it contained biscuits, which were perfectly dry and uninjured; accordingly, lest the sea should again rise, both he and Tim employed themselves in carrying up a large quantity, which they piled on deck, nor did they relinquish their work until, by means of a piece of canvas cut from a sail, they had

conveyed away the whole contents of the barrel. Upon a further search they discovered a cask branded "India Mess Beef," whereupon the head was removed, and a sufficient supply was transported to the upper deck. Fortunately several casks of fresh water were discovered, therefore their immediate wants were supplied. They had no means of lighting a fire until a further search should yield the materials, therefore they breakfasted off biscuits and uncooked salt beef, and never had they eaten with better appetites. Nero feasted upon biscuits soaked in water, with a few pieces of small chopped meat.

Having satisfied their hunger, Ned carefully surveyed their position. The vessel was lying upon a sunken reef, many portions of which were within two or three feet of the surface. About two miles from this spot there was a long but narrow reef that formed a coral island, to which Ned at once determined to transport all that they would require lest another storm should destroy the wreck. From this reef he trusted they might be able to reach the main land.

Without any delay both he and Tim set to work. Several empty water-casks were floating about in the fore-hold, and having selected ten, Ned, with Tim's assistance, succeeded in lashing them together with spars, so as to form a most buoyant raft, twenty-two feet long by ten in width. The sea had sunk to a complete calm by the afternoon; and as the fore part of the vessel was thrown high upon the reef, it was rather above its natural level, therefore the water only covered the bottom cargo. Fortunately the lower deck was dry, as the ship having parted in the middle the water that she had shipped during the storm had run out when the sea subsided. When Ned descended he at once found the carpenter's tool-chest, with a large quantity of all kinds of stores, and forcing away the bulkheads he made

use of the planks to cover the raft so as to form a deck. From sunrise to sunset the two lads worked without ceasing, by which time they had decked their vessel; but much remained to be done.

On the following morning they again set to work, and having discovered a spare boat's mast among the carpenter's stores they fitted it securely on the raft, and arranged a sail. At the same time Ned constructed a rude rudder with an oar, and improvised a false keel by running a plank perpendicularly through the deck, both fore and aft, so that it should project about three feet below the bottom of the raft, and thus prevent it from drifting to leeward.

By the evening of the second day the raft was thoroughly complete. Ned had arranged two empty water-casks amidships, to which the mast was lashed. Both he and Tim then busied themselves in carrying fresh water in buckets from the full casks on board the wreck, until they had completely filled the casks on the raft.

Every thing was in perfect order by the evening of the second day, and Ned looked forward to the morrow with eagerness, as he would then try the sea-going properties of their vessel.

Before sunrise both Ned and Tim were engaged in collecting all that they considered useful. They had discovered a couple of double-barrelled guns among the gunner's stores; and having selected half a dozen good muskets and pistols, they took a barrel of gunpowder, a hundred flints, and a large quantity of bullets and shot, together with a couple of cutlasses and a quantity of fishing-tackle, including a shark-hook and harpoon. They then emptied the carpenter's chest, together with several of the sailor's boxes, and carried them to the raft, where they stowed them around the mast, after which they replaced the tools in the carpenter's chest, and filled the others with biscuits and salt beef.

Tim, having been cook's mate, did not forget his pots and pans, but visited the galley, and selected a good kettle and a couple of saucepans, with a gridiron. By noon they were ready to sail, and having carried down a large parcel of the best clothes they could select from the sailors' kits, together with a supply of needles, thread, buttons, etc., they placed several large sails upon their cargo, that would afterward serve as an awning on shore, with a quantity of small spars and ropes, and pushed off from the wreck.

The wind was light and the sea smooth; thus the raft, although very heavily laden, sailed easily, without wetting her cargo; and as the breeze set directly toward the coral island, there was no difficulty in the navigation. The two boys were in high spirits at the success of their raft, which both sailed and steered well; and although alone on the wild east coast of Africa, with no other companion than the dog Nero, such is the elasticity of youth, and the excitement of vanquishing a difficulty, that they were for the moment thoroughly happy and free from every care.

The water was as clear as glass, and as they passed over the coral reefs at various depths they could be seen below like gardens of brilliant flowers glistening with every color, while the fish of many kinds, also varying in bright colors of gold, red, and blue, swam in large shoals among the coral groves, and sometimes sprang high from the water in their delight at the warm sun and the calm surface of the sea.

Sailing quietly along the beautiful gardens of the deep the raft approached the coral island, which appeared to form the centre of the surrounding shallow reefs. It was a long and perfectly flat island, that might be upward of a mile in extent, although not many hundred yards in width; it was. protected by an outer reef, which girded the island like an artificial outwork upon which the waves broke as upon a

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