The symptoms of the ship foundering did not appear to be immediate; so that Curtis insisted upon the raft being made with proper care to insure its strength; we were still several hundred miles from the coast of Guiana, and for so long a voyage it was indispensable to have a structure of considerable solidity.

The reasonableness of this was self-apparent, and as the crew had recovered their assurance they spared no pains to accomplish their work effectually.
Of all the number, there was but one, an Irishman, named O'Ready, who seemed to question the utility of all their toil.

He shook his head with an oracular gravity.

He is an oldish man, not less than sixty, with his hair and beard bleached with the storms of many travels.

As I was making my way towards the poop, he came up to me and began talking.
"And why, bedad, I'd like to know, why is it that they'll all be afther lavin' of the ship ?" He turned his quid with the most serene composure, and continued,-- "And isn't it me myself that's been wrecked nine times already?
and sure, poor fools are they that ever have put their trust in rafts or boats sure and they found a wathery grave.