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"What a change a few hours has made!" said Fred, as the light, cool breeze lifted gently the dark hair off his feverish brow; "last night, all was wild, and dark, and tempestuous; this morning, everything breathes peace and beauty. Sunrise on the ocean! was there ever anything more glorious?"

"A sailor's luck, Mr. Stanley," said Captain Harden, shaking the spray from his hair; "a short time ago we were shivering with the cold, and in two hours hence, we will be sweltering in the rays of a sun hot enough to roast an African."

"Do you think there is any chance of our being picked up before night, Captain?" inquired Gus.

"Can't say, sir. I trust so, however. There are always ships cruising about in these latitudes."

The day wore on; and, as the sun approached the meridian, the heat grew almost intolerable. Without shelter to ward off the burning rays of an almost tropical sun, they sank down overpowered, and utterly exhausted. Thirst, too, began to torment them; and the consciousness that they were without means to allay it, added to their suffering. Too languid even to converse, they sat in dreary silence, their eyes fixed on the boundless expanse of sky and ocean.