“They have left us,” cried Captain Blossom.  “But, thank fortune, the best and largest boat is also left.”

Some provisions had been tumbled into this boat, and a cask of water followed.  Then the girls were placed on board, the Rover boys followed, and the captain and old Jerry came behind, to cut away.  Down went the small boat into the mighty waves, and each of the boys caught up an oar.

“Pull!” roared Captain Blossom.  “Pull for your lives!” And they did pull, two boys on one side, and Sam and old Jerry on the other.  The girls huddled in the stern, expecting every moment to see the little craft turn bottom side up.  They scraped along the side of the doomed ship, and then along some rocks.  Captain Blossom was in the bow, peering ahead.

“To the left!” he yelled.  “Quick!” And then came a shock, and the captain disappeared beneath the waves.

“The captain is gone!” screamed Dora, but she was hardly heard, for the ship was pounding on the rocks, and the spray was flying in all directions.  The boys and old Jerry continued to pull, knowing not what else to do, and at last the spot was left behind and they found themselves on the bosom of the mighty Pacific, in the black darkness, out of sight of everything, with only the sounds of the wind and the waves filling their ears.

“Do you think we will ever get out of this alive?” asked Grace of Dora.

“Let us pray that we may all be spared,” answered Dora, and they did pray, more earnestly than they had ever before prayed in their whole lives.  It was a moment that put their faith to a supreme test.

The boys did not dare to stop rowing, and they kept on until their backs ached and their arms seemed ready to drop from their sockets.

“We had better take turns,” said Dick, at last.  “We can’t keep this up all night..”  And his suggestion was followed out, two, rowing at a time, for a space of fifteen or twenty minutes.

They thought they might see something of the other boats, but nothing came to view, and when they set up a shout at the top of their lungs, no answer came back.

“They have either gone down or else got out of this neighborhood,” said Tom.

“It was too bad to lose Captain Blossom,” said Sam.  “He was not such a bad sort, after all.”

It was not long after this that a mass of wreckage drifted past them.  There was a bit of broken spar and some other woodwork, but no human being, and they let the wreckage go.

By looking at his watch Dick saw that it was three o’clock in the morning.

“It will be light in another couple of hours,” he said.  “If we can keep on top of the waves until then perhaps we can sight the islands the captain mentioned.”

“I wish it was daylight now,” sighed Nellie.

Fortunately a bundle of clothing had been brought along, and as the water was warm, nobody suffered much from the wetting received.  Care was taken to keep the provisions as dry as possible, for there was no telling how long it would be before they would be able to get more.