She stretched herself on the bed, closed her eyes, and was
straightway sound asleep. At the captain's suggestion, Christobal had
given her a strong dose of bromide in the wine!
It was better so. If the ship were dashed to pieces against the rocks
which unquestionably lay ahead, Elsie would be whirled to the life
eternal before she quite knew what was happening. If, on the other hand,
some miracle of the sea enabled the men to construct a seaworthy raft in
time, or the rising tide permitted the _Kansas_ to escape, in so far as
to run ashore again in a comparatively sheltered position, she would be
none the worse for an hour's sleep. And now that the ship was afloat,
there were things to be done which only men could do. The saloon, the
decks, the forecabin, were places of the dead. Fearing lest Elsie might
pass, Christobal, before attending to Boyle, had thrown table-cloths over
the bodies of men slain in the saloon, for Gray and Tollemache had
sternly but vainly striven to repress the second revolt. Tollemache and
Walker had dragged out of the smothering spray near the port davits three
men who seemed to be merely stunned.
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