Upon This, He
Suddenly Turned Round, When The Canoe Gave A Roll, The Outrigger Flew
Overhead, And The Next Moment Came Rap On The Doctor's Skull, And We
Were Both In The Water.
Fortunately, we were just over a ledge of coral, not half-a-fathom
under the surface.
Depressing one end of the filled canoe, and
letting go of it quickly, it bounced up, and discharged a great part
of its contents; so that we easily baled out the remainder, and again
embarked. This time, my comrade coiled himself away in a very small
space; and enjoining upon him not to draw a single unnecessary
breath, I proceeded to urge the canoe along by myself. I was
astonished at his docility, never speaking a word, and stirring
neither hand nor foot; but the secret was, he was unable to swim, and
in case we met with a second mishap, there were no more ledges
beneath to stand upon. "Crowning's but a shabby way of going out of
the world," he exclaimed, upon my rallying him; "and I'm not going to
be guilty of it."
At last, the ship was at hand, and we approached with much caution,
wishing to avoid being hailed by anyone from the quarter-deck.
Dropping silently under her bows, we heard a low whistle - the signal
agreed upon - and presently a goodly-sized bag was lowered over to us.
We cut the line, and then paddled away as fast as we could, and made
the best of our way home.
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